Fear in Lagos community as abandoned building transforms into hoodlums’ hideout

VICTOR AYENI writes that the activities of suspected criminals in an abandoned building around Tokunbo Kelani Street, in Igando, Lagos, are heightening fear among residents of the area

The residents of the Tokunbo Kelani community in the Igando area of Lagos State could hardly contain their fear as they pointed in the direction of an eerie abandoned building on their street.

The area, which is close to the Alimosho General Hospital, is often quiet during the day as residents go about their businesses.

But on most nights, residents described a surge of negative energy emanating from a certain abandoned building on the street which they insisted had become a haven for kidnappers and other shades of criminals.

From the Isheri-Igando Expressway, there is an access road at the General Hospital bus stop which leads into Akeem Oke Street which then links to Tokunbo Kelani Street.

When The According visited the area on Tuesday last week, landlords in the area complained of hearing strange noises coming from the abandoned building on some nights, including cries from some people pleading for their lives to be spared.

The building, a ground-floor structure with a decked roof, is situated at the intersection of Akeem Oke and Tokunbo Kelani streets.

Our correspondent gathered that though the building which had been abandoned for over 20 years and had been marked for demolition several times by Lagos State agencies, the planned demolition had not been enforced.

According to documents presented by landlords in the community, the building was wrongfully erected to obstruct the link road between Akeem Oke and Tokunbo Kelani, a development that residents said had led to several incidents of flooding in the area.

Our correspondent observed that the building was surrounded by two structures, one of which was a church tent suspended on wooden pillars.

The church had no benches or chairs, only an altar with a crucifix placed on it and three white plastic chairs stationed close to it. A censer was seen on the church’s bare earth floor.

The next closest building, though uncompleted, had plastered walls, doors, and windows, but The According learned that its owner, one Mrs Olufunlayo Olowoyo, had abandoned the structure.

Church without members

Residents who spoke with our correspondent expressed doubt that the church close to the abandoned building was a real one.

According to them, the alleged owner of the church was identified as Taiwo Adepoju, popularly called ‘Prophet Elijah’.

A landlord in the community, Lanre Bammeke, told The According that the church had no other members except Adepoju, his wife, and son, adding that the man was known to burn strange things at night and place sacrifices at some locations in the area.

Bammeke said, “I don’t believe that place is a church. It seems to be more of a shrine. Though they have crosses and some icons there, there are no members there.

“The only people who come to the tent are the prophet or babalawo, his wife, and his son. Nobody else goes there.

“On some nights, a foul smell or something being burnt emanates from that tent. Sometimes, these things smell like flesh being burnt, but we can’t be sure, other residents have complained on several occasions, but this Prophet Elijah threatens anyone who confronts him and he boasted of being responsible for strange deaths in the community.

“That is why some people here are afraid to speak out. We have complained several times of the smoke and stench that emanates from his tent but nothing has been done about it. The prophet claims to be caring for people with mental disorders and he keeps them in the abandoned building. He is known to sleep with the females he says he’s caring for and impregnates them.”

While our correspondent was in the area, he saw a young woman, probably in her 20s who walked out of the abandoned building, strolled around the compound, and went back to sit on a bench in the house.

She was garbed in a brown native blouse and wrapper and had a protruding belly but was unresponsive when spoken to and seemed not to be aware of where she was.

Bammeke informed our correspondent that the lady was one of Adepoju’s clients who was pregnant.

“Adepoju is not a landlord in the community and he doesn’t own a property around here, but he has been occupying the second building which had been abandoned for over 20 years.

“We want the authorities to investigate what is going on here. In the night, we hear strange cries coming from abandoned buildings and perceive things being burnt, but in the morning, everywhere will be clean except for some ashes of God knows what. This site is probably being used as a criminal hideout,” he added.

We hear people pleading for their lives – Chairman

In an interview with our correspondent, the Chairman of the Tokunbo Kelani Street Landlord Association, Alhaji Ganiyu Salau, said residents had complained of hearing cries of people pleading for their lives coming from the abandoned buildings.

“We have hired some vigilance groups but they all left after some time. On some nights, we hear strange noises, screams, and pleadings possibly from kidnapped people coming from the abandoned and illegally constructed building.

“We hear noises like, ‘Please don’t kill me,’ ‘I will pay,’ at various intervals. By daybreak, one of the buildings becomes empty and deserted only for such to recur again after some days or weeks. It’s as if these criminals have mastered ways of cleaning things up by daybreak.

“We don’t know who these people are and we don’t know what they are capable of doing. Who knows, they might even use the abandoned structure to store explosives.”

When our correspondent visited an elder in the community who gave his name only as Mr Olowokiti, he pointed out that after several petitions written by residents, the structures were marked for demolition, but had not been pulled down.

He said, “I was a former community development area chairman here and the road linking Akeem Oke with Tokunbo Oke used to be thoroughly broad; it was the abandoned structures that blocked it.

“We have made arrangements, we have written several letters, we have been to Alausa, we’ve also been to Alimosho and they agreed to come to open the road but they said we should pay a certain amount. During the rainy season, that place is completely flooded. We want the state government and the authorities to save this community from the menace of criminals and remove these structures obstructing the main street.”

One of the letters written by the community landlord association to the state Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources was sighted by our correspondent.

Titled ‘Petition on Abandoned/Illegally Constructed Building Blocking Main Road and Suspected of Being Used as Kidnapping Abode,’ and dated February 24, partly read, “The abandoned/illegally constructed building has of recent become an abode of criminals, suspected kidnappers, robbers, and could be illegal storage for explosives, consequences of which cannot be imagined.

“The building is also an obstruction to drainages, hence causing serious floods during the rainy season into various houses on the street. Officials of the Lagos State Government, Lagos State Building Control Agency, and Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority have visited the place several times and marked the building for demolition in the past 20 years at different times, but the demolition has yet to be carried out.”

Prophet mum

However, when The  According visited the house where residents claimed Adepoju lived in the area, the gates were shut.

When our correspondent asked to speak with the prophet, a woman answered from inside the building saying that the prophet was not available.

Other attempts to speak with Adepoju on his phone proved abortive as the number was switched off as of the time of filing this report.

LASG plans demolition

Meanwhile, The According learnt that following the letter of petitions to the state agencies, officials of LASPPA visited the structures again for an assessment.

A contravention notice dated February 28 which was served on the abandoned building was sighted by our correspondent.

The letter partly read, “Illegal blockage of existing structures without obtaining a development permit. The property owner should remove the structure before legal action.

“Failure to remove the said contravention within 48 hours (two days) from the date of serving the notice, the said contravention shall be demolished after the service of demolition notice.”

On Tuesday afternoon, it was learnt that officials of the enforcement department of LASBCA also visited the site, served a contravention notice, and marked the building for demolition with red spray paint.

The notice dated March 5 and pasted on the building read, “Use of structure without evidence of building permit. No evidence of usage, inspection, certification, or certificate of completion and fitness of habitation from LASBCA.

“If you dispute the above contravention, you are requested to bring all documents in support of your case including your building permit to the undersigned within 48 hours of the service of this notice on you.”

Our correspondent further gathered that officials of the state Ministry of Environment also visited the structure on Wednesday to assess the building and issue a statement in due course.

Following the advice of state officials, the chairman of the landlord association, in a letter dated March 4 and also sighted by our correspondent, petitioned the Divisional Police Officer in the Igando Police Station.

A police source also said that Adepoju was invited to the police station on Wednesday and an investigation of the issue was still ongoing.

However, on Friday, Bammeke informed our correspondent that Adepoju had demolished his church tent.

“After honouring the police’s invitation on Wednesday, the prophet began demolishing his church tent and as of Thursday morning, the structure had been cleared. Adepoju has also informed the chairman that he would evacuate the abandoned building latest Sunday,” he disclosed.

The According gathered that the contravention notice placed on the abandoned building by LASBCA had been removed by an unknown person.

“That notice that was pasted on the building’s wall on Tuesday has been removed. We learned that the person who removed it came with a car around 3 am, walked towards the building, and tore off the notice,” Bammeke added.