Fresh revelations have emerged over the controversial demolition of a multimillion-naira mansion in Lagos allegedly carried out by officers of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in connivance with a suspected land syndicate.
A Lagos-based civil engineer, Engr. McDonald Okwor, 48, has accused a cartel working throughout the FHA of razing his property to the bottom at sixth Avenue, FESTAC Town, on Saturday, October 11, 2025, after he refused to pay a ₦260 million bribe allegedly demanded by the group.
According to Okwor, the demolition, executed by over 35 armed policemen and thugs purportedly employed by FHA officers represents the “destruction of years of labor and dreams.”
“They came to my house around noon with bulldozers and caterpillars, backed by armed police officers,” Okwor recounted. “I was told that unless I paid ₦262.2 million as ‘settlement,’ they would demolish my house using FHA authority. When I refused, they made good on the threat.”
The embattled engineer narrated that the ordeal started shortly after he moved into the property earlier within the 12 months.
“A certain lawyer led hoodlums to my site, arrested my workers, and threatened further action unless I settled,” he mentioned. “I petitioned the AIG Zone 2 Police Command, but the suspects ignored police invitations.”
He alleged that in a go to to the FHA workplace to report the harassment, a senior official shockingly admitted that the syndicate was being “assisted” by the company to power him into settlement talks.
“The FHA Head of Survey told me they had advised the lawyer and his group to arrest my workers to pressure me into payment,” Okwor mentioned. “They demanded ₦262 million as settlement, a ridiculous figure. I decided to await the court judgment over ownership between FHA and the Kuje family, who sold the land to me.”
Okwor claimed that regardless of a pending courtroom case and a directive for all events to take care of the established order, FHA officers allegedly proceeded with the demolition with out a courtroom order.
“The matter is before the Lagos State High Court,” he defined. “There was no court order authorizing any demolition. So, on what legal basis did FHA destroy my property? Are they now above the law?”
According to him, hours earlier than the demolition, residents sighted a brown Infiniti SUV belonging to a “notorious land grabber” parked close to the property, shortly earlier than the bulldozers arrived.
Recounting the chaos, Okwor alleged that in the course of the demolition, FHA brokers and policemen bodily assaulted him and his household, arrested them, and detained them in a single day on the Oshodi Task Force Cell.
“They beat my wife, brother, sister, and her husband. They seized our phones, bundled us into a Black Maria, and detained us till the next morning,” he mentioned.
The engineer claimed that after the incident, he tried to safeguard dwell electrical wires uncovered by the demolition, however job power operatives returned with extra armed males, accusing him of “rebuilding.”
“They used tear gas and beat us again before forcing me to sign an undertaking never to return to the land,” he added. “Until this cabal within FHA and the Lagos State Task Force is dismantled, FESTAC will never have peace.”
When journalists visited the FHA Lagos Office at 211 Road, FESTAC, an official recognized as M.M. Ayuba declined feedback, saying:
“We have nothing to tell you. Direct all inquiries to our headquarters in Abuja.”
However, a authorized officer who spoke off-record claimed FHA adopted due course of.
“We pasted demolition notices, but the owner ignored them and instead sent people to remove the notices,” he mentioned.
