Landlord, tenants allege harassment as dispute over Lagos warehouse escalates

A property dispute at 50A Industrial Estate, Morrison Crescent, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos has spiralled into alleged police intimidation, forged documents and harassment by thugs, leaving landlords and tenants in fear.

Mr. Babajide Doherty, who owns the warehouses with his two sisters, traced the dispute back to 2019 when the property was transferred to them.

He said, “When we took over, the woman managing the property first introduced herself as Mrs Uyebo. But when we checked the Corporate Affairs Commission records, we found Mrs Funke‑Oti Dolakomo listed as director of CTSR Properties Limited. It turned out they’re the same person.”

He said trouble began when she stopped paying the agreed rent.

“The first year, she paid only N250,000 instead of N448,000. She even secretly sublet parts of the warehouse to other tenants without our written consent. Under the lease, that should have meant forfeiting the rest of her term.

He further stated that the situation escalated after they informed the sub‑tenants that they were the rightful landlords.

Doherty added, “That’s when the intimidation started. She used police, EFCC officials, customs officers and even thugs to harass us and the tenants. At one point, she brought a bulldozer, claiming she wanted to demolish the warehouses.

“The warehouses were built years ago by Lebanese developers. She only did renovations at her own cost, about N8 million she borrowed from a bank. But that doesn’t give her ownership. The lease states clearly that any improvements are at her expense.”

He also alleged a fraudulent attempt to seize the property.

“She went to register a 50‑year lease in her name, even though she paid rent for less than a year. Later, she tried to evict tenants using what she called a ‘consent judgment’, which we were never notified about. As if that was not enough, she sold part of the leased years to another person.

Doherty said court orders and legal action had so far made no difference, alleging, “She ignores every summons, has never filed a defence, and keeps changing phone numbers so no one can reach her.”

Appealing to the authorities, he said, “We are calling on the Inspector‑General of Police, the Lagos State Governor and the Attorney‑General to investigate CTSR Properties Limited and stop this abuse of power. We just want the law to take its course.”

One of the tenants, Mr. Anselem Tabansi, described how he became trapped in the crisis.

“We leased the warehouse through an agent for N25 million per annum. I was told to drop a post-dated cheque for the next year. Before making the payment, I insisted on seeing the owner of the warehouse but the agent said she didn’t like interfacing with tenants. To my surprise, three months later, a lawyer wrote to us saying the agent had no authority. When we tried to meet the real owners, the woman refused. Instead, she took us to the EFCC, accusing me of issuing dud cheques.”

Tabansi said since then, the legal and police harassment had yet to stop. He explained that in one of the instances, a court bailiff and some policemen stormed the warehouse to enforce court orders to evict us.

At other times, policemen and thugs came, ordered everyone to move the furniture out. At a time they even removed the roof and it rained then, destroying the furniture.

While the matter was at the FCID Alagbon, another team if policemen, again stormed the warehouse. But for the intervention of the FCID who got wind of the it, the thugs would have brought down the warehouse.

He also alleged that on two occasions, they brought a bulldozer to bring down the warehouses but the attempt was stopped, even though they pulled down a part of the warehouse. They also attempted to use manual means to break it.

“It’s been endless stress. We have invested so much, and all we want is to run our business peacefully.”

Another tenant, Mrs. Zainab Akingbeyin, who runs a furniture company, spoke of fear and constant disruption.

“Since we moved in, there’s been no peace; thugs come in, steal diesel, break our generators and damage equipment. I’m even afraid to go there now,” ,” she said.

She said attempts to stop the harassment through the courts had so far failed.

The distraught parties said a restraining order was pasted on the property, but the developer ignored every court order, “never comes to court, and no one can reach her because she keeps changing her phone numbers.”

The landlords and tenants have jointly called for a full investigation by the police, the EFCC and the Lagos State Government into what they describe as a fraudulent takeover attempt.

Spokesperson for the Force Criminal Investigation Department FCID, Alagbon, are said to be investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, those on the property say they live in fear of the next raid or the next bulldozer attack.