Skip to main content

Lagos State Government Inaugurates Panel To Probe Lekki Free Trade Zone Crisis

November 16, 2015

A panel of the Lagos State Government to investigate the recent murder of Mr. Tajudeen Disu, the boss of the Lekki Free Zone, as well as other related deaths and the lingering crisis of land ownership and use at the Ibeju-Lekki area of the State, was inaugurated on Monday.

A panel of the Lagos State Government to investigate the recent murder of Mr. Tajudeen Disu, the boss of the Lekki Free Zone, as well as other related deaths and the lingering crisis of land ownership and use at the Ibeju-Lekki area of the State, was inaugurated on Monday.

Image

The inquiry, which was set up last month by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, is being chaired by a retired judge, Justice Adesuyi Olateru-Olagbegi.  Other members of the five-man panel are Faud Kazeem, Yemi Lawal, Tunde Seriki and Mrs. Arinola Onabamiro. 

On October 12, the crisis over the land being acquired by the LFZ Ltd escalated as Mr. Disu was murdered in an early morning incident. The crisis has seen many villagers displaced from the community due to threats and violence by men of the MOPOL 49 and the Nigerian Army drafted to the area at the instance of LFZ Ltd and Africa’s acclaimed businessman, Aliko Dangote. The villagers accuse the state government of pitching tents with Mr. Dangote and LFZ in the interest of the personal business gain of its officials.

At the inauguration of the panel, the Attorney General, Kazeem Adeniji said the incident which led to the murder of Mr. Disu gave Governor Ambode serious concern and that the governor is determined to get to the bottom of the upheavals in the community. He said the LFZ project was conceived and established to transform Nigeria's economy and is about the largest in West Africa with potentials similar to that of the Lekki Deep-Sea Port. 

"Government is, therefore, looking for lasting solutions and incisive recommendations to ensure this never ever happens again," Mr. Adeniji said. 

In a statement to open the inquiry, Justice Olateru-Olagbegi, said the terms of reference are to inquire into the remote and immediate causes of the crisis. To that end, he said the panel has invited memoranda from individuals, groups, stakeholders, host communities and other interested members of the public on issues relating to the crisis.

He assured the public that the inquiry will come out with evidence-based solutions to forestall any recurrence, and also make suitable recommendations to the government based on its findings. 

He called for the support and cooperation of the public to help the inquiry achieve its purpose.