The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, and several other police officers are facing a ₦250 million lawsuit over an alleged invasion of a construction site in Lekki, Lagos, involving the assault of workers and the arrest and detention of an engineer and a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member.
The suit was filed before the Lagos State High Court by Haut Nigeria Limited, Engr. Olakunle Adebayo and three others, who accused the police officers of unlawfully intervening in a land ownership dispute already pending before the Supreme Court.
According to court documents, armed policemen attached to the Lagos State Police Command Special Squad 1 allegedly stormed a six-storey residential construction site on Egbeyemi Street, off Freedom Way, Lekki, on September 8, 2026.
The applicants alleged that the officers, accompanied by representatives of a private property development company, assaulted workers and artisans with horsewhips, forcing them to abandon the site.
They further claimed that an NYSC member serving as the project’s engineer was slapped, handcuffed and taken away in a Toyota Hilux after questioning the officers’ actions. His phone was allegedly seized before he was transported to the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja.
Adebayo also alleged that he was subsequently arrested and detained overnight after attempting to intervene. He claimed he was denied food, sleep and access to his phones and was only granted police bail after signing an undertaking not to return to the construction site.
The applicants further accused the officers of locking up the property and stationing armed mobile policemen at its entrance to prevent access and halt construction activities.
They alleged that the police returned to the property on September 14, chased away workers again and threatened them against resuming work.
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The dispute concerns two plots of land on which Haut Nigeria Limited, through a joint-venture arrangement with the other applicants, was developing a six-storey residential project known as The Crystal, comprising 10 two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.
The applicants maintained that they had obtained the necessary provisional planning approval from the Lagos State Government and were preparing to hand over completed apartments to buyers before the alleged invasion disrupted the project.
They also accused the police of disregarding an existing legal process concerning ownership of the land, insisting that law enforcement officers have no authority to determine ownership or issue orders restraining construction activities in a civil property dispute.
Consequently, they are asking the court to declare that the alleged invasion, assault, harassment, arrest and detention violated their fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution.
They are also seeking an order compelling the respondents to withdraw all police officers stationed at the property, vacate the premises and stop further interference with their access to the building and construction activities.
The applicants are demanding ₦250 million in substantial and exemplary damages against the police officers and other respondents.
The allegations are contained in court filings and have not been established by a judicial determination. The court’s decision on the matter is still awaited.
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