Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has visited Magodo Phase II Estate over Tuesday’s protest by residents against alleged police siege.

The Estate management had on Tuesday ordered a closure of the Estate’s gates in protest against the planned demolition of property in the estate.

Policemen numbering about 50 had recently accompanied suspected land grabbers and members of a family who had planned to demolish property in the estate to execute a Supreme Court judgement.

Addressing residents of the estate on Tuesday, Sanwo-Olu, while appealing for calm, said a meeting had been scheduled with the judgement creditors on Wednesday, adding that representatives of the association and the police would also be involved in the meeting.

He said, “My great people of Magodo, I bring you good tidings. The Chairman of the residents association; the honourable Attorney General; other cabinet members; the Assistant Inspector General of Police and also the leader of the team from the IG’s office are all here.

“First is to wish all of you a happy New Year. It is a very difficult one to start the year like this and it is because of the importance that we see to the lack of proper information that I had to take up this assignment myself.

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When the first attempt happened about two weeks ago, I intervened and if you remembered very well, the action was immediate and there were no incidents again and throughout the festive period, we had started communication.

“One of the things to first understand is that the residents, the people that have gone to court and the police are my subjects. I have the responsibility to ensure that fairness, equity is entrenched.

“The people that have come said they have Supreme Court judgement, rightly so, the residents living here have proper title and a means to live here and of course the Nigerian Police.

“In the car, I had spoken extensively with the IGP and with the honourable Attorney-General and we have resolved all of the issues. What we will see is that there will be a total stand-down and tomorrow, around 11am, we will be inviting the representatives of the judgement creditors.”

The Governor said a committee had been set up to officially invite all parties concerned to his office tomorrow, adding that the state government was bent on resolving the matter.

“We will all go through every line of it and come to an amicable solution. To ensure that peace would be restored into the estate, I want all of our citizens to go about their lawful businesses, knowing fully well that nobody will be harassed or property trampled upon pending these conversations as we will have conversations tomorrow so that we can bring this to final closure.

“So, I want to ask the residents and executives not to take laws into their hands and go back home peacefully as the policemen have been recalled back. The judgement creditors claimed that the people we met with are not their full representatives. We will meet the full representatives again so we will be able to bring everything to final closure.

“All of you have been wonderful, so, let us continue to maintain the peace that we have in Magodo and I can assure you that none of your houses would be marked again and the ones that have been marked, we will try and see how we will sort it out because war doesn’t take anybody anywhere, it is on the table that we will all resolve it.

“I want to appeal to all of you to stand down and go back to your houses as nothing will happen to anyone as I am here to ensure that Magodo continues to remain in peace and safety for our residents. Whatever property that has been locked would be opened as everything would be resolved”, he added.