for justice sequel to her forceful
eviction from an apartment she
was occupying with her husband at
Festac town, Lagos.
According to the Imo State-born woman
identified as Rachael Nwosu, the
incident happened between 7 to
7:30am on Friday, September 4, 2013,
when three men reportedly knocked on
her door at No 311, B close, Festac
town; not suspecting any thing, she
opened the door only to be confronted
by some men who told her they had a
court order to eject her from the
premises.
The housewife who bluntly objected to
her photograph being used because of
perceived threats to her life stated; "It
happened that on Friday, 4th of
September, when there was heavy rain,
I was inside with my husband Francis
Nwosu, when three men knocked on our
door in the morning between 7 to 7:30
am , I opened the door and saw about
10 men who said they were from the
court to eject us.
I asked them why didn't the court give
us a notice which suppose to be the
procedure to enable us move out? They
said they had come to take over the
house, that our landlord Emmanuel
Ekanem was not the owner of the
house. I told them I was not interested
in the case of house ownership, but
they should have allowed us to move
out, instead of disgracefully throwing us
out under the rain.
"They threw out everything under that
rain, there was a lot of damages to my
property. As I am talking to you, I don't
have anywhere to lay my head. I can't
even give account of where my
belongings are, because it is only when
you've saved your head that you worry
where your about your property are.
The men said it was a Lieutenant
Colonel that sent them to throw us out.
We don't know him as our landlord, so I
don't know the offense we committed
that would make him send people to
eject us without notice.
"Our landlord that we know is
Emmanuel Ekanem. My concern is that
there was no notice. If the court had
given an order, there ought to be a
notice so that we know where to put our
head, then if he has anything to settle,
he should go ahead and settle it. That
day, some of our properties were stolen,
the only money we had at home then
was also stolen. I am just recovering
from the shock. Immediately, we were
ejected from the house, they put in
another occupant, some new occupants
are there now," she said.
A man who claimed to be the genuine
landlord of the house Emmanuel
Ekanem, told Crime Guard that he
owned the property located at number
311, B close, Festac town- Lagos. He
narrated how he purchased the said
property in 2008. "I bought that
property from the lieutenant Colonel, he
gave me a 'Deed of Assignment, Power
of Attorney and an affidavit, telling me
the documents to the property were
lost. I paid the agreed sum which was
N6.5m. I have the receipts, I have my
documents also.
"In 2009, I noticed some foul play in
that the main document he ought to
give me was missing out. He had
instructed the Implementation
Committee to send the original
document to 'Savings and Loans'. In
order words, he used these documents
to mortgage. When I discovered this
abnormality, I called him, he refused to
respond, I then told my lawyer to do a
letter to him and he started threatening
me. I went to his military division office
then at Yaba to report him. I did a letter
to SID. After investigation, they told
him that 'the property in question was
mine, that he should prepare a
document to me, and that the issue of
threat to my life should cease. I have a
letter to prove the threats to my life.
"We went to 'Multi-Dor court but they
could not settle us, they asked us to go
to a higher court. Until when my tenant
called me that they threw their
belongings out. Also I wasn't served the
said letter from the Customary court,
which they used to throw out my
tenant, so it was just a charade. They
threw out my tenants and immediately
they moved one of their agents in the
person of Ben Ekpo into my premises.
He was among the agents who received
the N6.5 million I paid to purchase the
house on behalf of the lieutenant
colonel.
"I want to let Nigerians know what I am
passing through. Is it because I am a
civilian that a military man of his caliber
would do such a thing? I paid for that
house in 2008. I was his tenant, and I
paid for the property. When I moved
into that house, they gave me an offer
letter, that he wanted to sell. I have all
the documents in respect to this," he
lamented.
When contacted on phone, the
Lieutenant Colonel told Crime Guard
that there was a court injunction which
backed his actions."Don't let him take
you into what you don't know, there
was a court injunction to that; the
matter is in court. You will have to
speak to my lawyer," he said.
Later on, a man who identified himself
as Victor Chinedu, counsel to the
Colonel called and told Crime Guard
that he would call back concerning the
case. About three hours, another caller
who identified himself simply as
Ekanem, another counsel to the Colonel
called to say that "Emmanuel Ekanem
was just parading himself as owner of
the property,adding that the Police is
investigating the matter. My client
borrowed money from him to return
later. The Police will investigate the
matter. We have sent the documents
for forensic investigations. The man was
the Colonel's tenant and friend for
years," Ekanem explained.
Incidentally, the agrieved woman
rushed to Vanguard Headquarters to
complain the next day that after she
narrated her plight, some people
threatened to make life difficult for her
if the story was published. According to
the visibly frightened woman, "On
Tuesday, September 8th, 2013, at 23
road, Festac town, around 5pm, three
men on suit stopped and told me that
they heard we had taken the case to the
press, that they would make life
difficult for us, that they would make
Nigeria hot for us and that they would
hunt us to the grave. I am therefore,
appealing to the relevant security
agencies to intervain on our behalf. I
don't know the crime we committed in
this matter, I know that God will fight
for us."
Source: Vanguard
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