Residents and indigenes of Okun Ajah in Eti Osa Local Government, Lagos State, are demanding a full investigation into the alleged sale of land along the Coastal Road alignment to private property owners. They strongly refute claims that the Federal Government’s rerouting of the road saved 2,000 houses, arguing that the actual number of houses in the area is significantly lower.

The residents place the blame for the current conflict surrounding the Lagos-Calabar highway at Okun Ajah on land grabbers who illegally sold portions of land on the coastal road to unsuspecting individuals, despite knowing that the road was already designated.

This call for action follows the emergence of an alleged "Appreciation Letter" purportedly written by the acting Baale of the town, Sikiru Olukosi, who is accused of collaborating with these land grabbers to facilitate construction on the Coastal Road alignment.

They have accused the land vendors of willfully disregarding the laws of the land and are now scrambling to obstruct the original road plan.

The residents of Lagos are demanding stricter penalties and sanctions to be imposed on the culprits, while urging the Federal Government to adhere to the 2006 Coastal road alignment as a deterrent against future flouting of government directives.

In response to the letter, the Akogun of Okun Ajah, Saheed Olukosi informed the press that, “It is a grand conspiracy perpetuated by the BAALE OF OKUN AJAH and the secretary KAMORU OGIDAN with the Igbo landlords that they sold the coastal roads to,The number of residences affected by the Coastal road alignment is less than one hundred, and numerous houses will be impacted by the rerouting of the road.”

He added, “Their actions are purely mischievous. They are violators of the law and are attempting to deceive the government. It is an undeniable truth that they constructed their houses on the Coastal road alignment, fully aware of the implications.”

“What they seek to achieve now is to mislead the government into demolishing the homes of those who complied with the law and they are the same people that sold the land to the owners

Noibi Otolowo ,the Youth leader of Okun Ajah also debunked the claim that about two thousand houses will be saved if the road is rerouted ,describing it as a ploy by law breakers to evade punishment . He therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Works ,David Umahi to maintain the gazetted route .

He said ” All these problems are needless .Already there has been an alignment since 2006 ,which many of us adhered to . Some people disregarded the law and now ,they are trying to manipulate the law of the land . This must not be allowed in anyway .

One of their antics is to inflate the number of houses that will be affected .Where is the number of houses that they are quoting . Hundreds of houses will be affected of the road is rerouted .They are not saying anything about that .”

He wondered that ” How can they leave the law breakers and decide to demolish the houses of those of us ,who maintained the law .The government should not listen to any excuse .They built on the Coastal road alignment and they should be ready to face the consequences .”

Otolowo also denied the claim that the Marine Cable is on the Coastal route .He said ” Marine Cable is at Mopo 2 ,which is far from the Coastal route in Okun Ajah . The government should do the normal thing to discourage lawlessness.

Also ,Alhaji Kareem Aregbesola called on the Federal Government to ” Do the right thing and save the community from the unnecessary drama ,which has been associated with the Coastal road in the Okun Ajah community. He also advised that the government should not set a bad precedence with how they handle the matter .

He said ” The government should know that whatever they do today will determinate a lot of things in the future . They should not set a precedence that will embolden people to flagrantly abuse the law of the land . Where are the two thousand houses on the Coastal road alignment that they are talking about .The government should go ahead with the road on the gazetted route and punish the offenders ,who defied the rule of law .”

The construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal road has sparked division within the Lagos community. The Federal Ministry of Works’ decision to reroute the road in certain sections, due to houses built on the original alignment, has created two opposing camps.

While those who constructed homes on the gazetted Coastal Road alignment support the diversion, hundreds of other residents, who built outside the road’s designated path, insist that the law must be upheld and that they should not be penalized for the actions of those who broke the law.

Adding to the complexity, MTN has confirmed that their marine cables do not run along the gazetted route. They have even appealed to the Minister of Works to adhere to the original alignment. This further raises questions about the legitimacy of the claims made by those advocating for the rerouting.