The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday adopted the recommendations of its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC on a petition seeking the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for land belonging to the Igbaro Oteshade Royal Family in Oko-Ado Village, Sangotedo, Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
The decision followed the presentation of the committee’s report by its chairman, Oladipupo Ajomale, during plenary.
Ajomale said the committee conducted an oversight visit to the disputed land alongside officials from the Office of the State Surveyor-General, the Lagos State Land Bureau and the New Towns Development Authority as part of its investigation into the petition.
According to the report, the committee observed that portions of the land had already been allocated, with the presence of Smart City and Efficacy Construction Company on parts of the site.
It also noted ongoing construction activities on portions of the land allegedly sold by some members of the family.
The committee said its findings established the Oteshade Royal Family as the ancestral owner of the land and shares a boundary with the Otebiya Family, a claim it said was confirmed by the community’s Baale.
Ajomale told lawmakers that there was also a valid Memorandum of Understanding between both families, under which payments were made in recognition of the Oteshade family’s ownership rights over the property.
The committee further established that landowners in the area have access to an official route separate from the disputed sand-filled access road at the centre of the petition.
As part of its recommendations, the committee urged the Land Bureau, NTDA and other relevant government agencies to immediately stop allocating land that had already been excised or committed to individuals and corporate entities.
The committee warned that the continued allocation of such land could expose the state to legal disputes and reputational damage.
Lawmakers unanimously adopted the recommendations as resolutions of the House.
Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the sitting, subsequently ratified the committee’s recommendations on behalf of the Assembly.