The Department of State Services (DSS) in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, has invited Comrade Jamiu Olayinka, one of the conveners of the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, in connection with a lawsuit filed by the group against the Lagos State Government regarding a controversial land deal with Dangote Refinery.
The land in question, valued at $100 million, was allegedly taken from the Ibeju-Lekki natives without compensation.
Comrade Olayinka, who leads the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, was summoned on Thursday morning while he was at work.
He was asked to report to the DSS office at 10:00 a.m. that day.
After consulting with his legal team and members of the forum, Olayinka honoured the invitation, which was conveyed to him via a phone call from a man identifying himself as the Director of DSS in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government.
Upon arriving at the DSS office, Olayinka was questioned regarding the forum’s involvement in the lawsuit against the Lagos State Government.
Speaking to his supporters later, he disclosed that the DSS official inquired about the group’s legal standing and motives for pursuing the case.
“They asked about the case, and I told them we are not backing down,” Olayinka said.
“I informed them that we have every right to sue the Lagos State Government over this issue.”
He further revealed that the DSS official was taken aback when he presented the forum’s registration certificate from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), confirming the legitimacy of their association.
According to Olayinka, the invitation was an attempt to intimidate the group into withdrawing from the lawsuit. “Their plan is to pressure us to back out, but we will not bow to any intimidation,” he asserted.
The Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, along with the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, had earlier demanded answers from the Lagos State Government regarding the alleged payment of $100 million by Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the land acquired for the Dangote Refinery project.
The natives claim that the land was taken from them without compensation, despite Dangote’s claim that the payment had been made to the state government nine years ago.
In a letter dated July 27, 2024, addressed to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, through its lawyers, invoked the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) to request details of the transaction.
The group sought clarification on whether Dangote had indeed paid $100 million, to which account the money was deposited, who managed the funds, and how they were utilized.
When the Lagos State Government failed to respond within the seven-day period stipulated by the FOI Act, the foundation, with the support of the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, filed a suit seeking an Order of Mandamus to compel the government to provide the requested information.
Human rights lawyer Barrister Yakubu Eleto, the Principal Partner of Yakubu Eleto Chambers, who is representing both the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum and the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, raised concerns over the state government’s response to the lawsuit.
He accused the government of attempting to use the DSS to intimidate his clients, rather than addressing the core issue of transparency in the land deal.
“The Lagos State Government has chosen to resort to intimidation through the DSS, rather than answering the simple questions we raised regarding the $100 million land deal,” Barrister Eleto stated.
“We are lawyers to both the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, who wrote the letter to Governor Sanwo-Olu, and the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, whose members are directly affected by this development.
The state government’s failure to provide the requested information prompted us to file the lawsuit, and now, instead of facing the legal process, they are using the DSS to apply pressure on the natives.”
Barrister Eleto emphasized that the FOI Act allows for legal action if the government fails to respond to information requests within the specified timeframe.
He also criticized Governor Sanwo-Olu for not respecting the rule of law by allowing the case to proceed in court.
“Rather than be humble enough to face the rule of law and await his day in court, the governor has resorted to using the DSS to silence those affected by the land deal.
“This is unacceptable, and we will not be intimidated,” Eleto declared.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the case has attracted significant attention due to the high-profile nature of the parties involved, including Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and the Lagos State Government.
It was also gathered that the Ibeju-Lekki land, which was allocated for the construction of the Dangote Refinery, has been a point of contention for years, with local residents claiming that they were never compensated for their ancestral land.
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