The Vice-Chancellor, Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, Prof. Nosa Owens-Ibie, has appealed to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Sylvester Alabi, to save the institution from the menace of land grabbers who are trespassing on the varsity’s land.
According to the VC, the activities of the trespassers are affecting the commencement of work on the institution’s Medical College project.
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He stated this at the weekend when the CP paid a courtesy visit to the management of the university in Imota.
Owens-Ibie also said a number of times, the land speculators had threatened the lives of the staff of the school, including the Bursar.
“There is a portion of the school’s land that has been earmarked for staff housing and we were about to fence the place when these land grabbers called Omo Onile showed up and beat up everybody and disrupted the work. Our Medical College and some projects billed for Ajah-Awoyaya axis is being disrupted too.
“We took bank facilities to acquire the land and all the titles and deeds properly obtained. But these land grabbers also prevented us from starting work. In fact, one particular day, they chased away everybody including our Bursar. A Lagos State government project was supposed to be sited on our land in the main campus here, but the people did not allow that,” he said.
The VC also called for the establishment of a permanent police patrol team pin-down point along the highway in front of the university gate to discourage undesirable elements and criminals from any attack on the university.
He lauded the police formations and security agencies around Ikorodu-Imota axis for their cooperation and support for the university.
In his reply, CP Alabi noted that the issue of land grabbing and trespassing has become a major problem in Lagos.
While promising to tackle it headlong, the CP added as long as anybody can establish ownership of land, there would be little problem warding off trespassers.
He stated that the police would intensify patrols of roads so as to ensure the protection of lives and properties.
“My intention is to ensure visibility policing and the domination of public space by police officers. We need to do this to deter criminals. We will sustain police presence and we will accede to the request for a pin down point since it is coming from the management of the school,” he said.
CP Alabi commended the management of the university for the warm welcome given to him and his team
