By Uche Onyeali
Presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi has alleged that a property belonging to his younger brother was demolished in Lagos without any court order.
Obi, who disclosed this in a post via his verified X (Twitter) handle on Tuesday, said the property, owned by his brother’s company, had stood for over 15 years before it was demolished.
The former Anambra State governor alleged that the demolition was carried out by unidentified persons acting on a vague court judgement that did not mention his brother, the property or contain any demolition order.
“This morning, my youngest brother called me frantically, informing me that a group of people had invaded his company’s property in Ikeja, Lagos, and were demolishing the building.
“He had just come in from Port Harcourt and was denied entry into the property by security men who told him the building was being pulled down,” Obi wrote.
The Labour Party leader, who said he flew in from Abuja to witness the scene firsthand, added that on arrival, he was barred from entering the premises and was told that the demolition was being carried out pursuant to a court order.
However, according to him, the supposed judgement was addressed to unnamed squatters and did not include any demolition order or authorising documentation.
“How do you sue an unknown person? How does a court issue judgement in such a farce of a case? No one was served. No name was written.
“Yet they showed up with excavators and began destroying a structure that had stood for over 15 years,” he lamented.
Obi described the entire episode as “coordinated lawlessness,” lamenting what he sees as Nigeria’s descent into a state of impunity.
“I stood there from 10am to 2pm, waiting to get a call from whoever ordered the demolition. Nobody came. The contractor did not even know who sent him.
“Two men later came and said they would like us to go to a police station. I asked if they even had a demolition order but they had nothing. The whole situation screamed of coordinated lawlessness and impunity. Our country has become lawless,” he said.
The former presidential hopeful used the opportunity to reflect on broader implications for business and investments in Nigeria, citing a recent conversation with an investor who shunned the country due to its “lawless” reputation.
“This is not about me or my brother—it is about what ordinary Nigerians go through every day.
“If this can happen to someone with a registered company and legitimate ownership, what hope does the average citizen have?” he queried.
He reiterated his commitment to build a new Nigeria “where lawlessness will become a thing of the past and protection of life, property, and civil rights are guaranteed.”
As at press time, no government agency had claimed responsibility for the demolition and no official explanation had been given.
