Whitesand demolition: Court asks aggrieved traders, govt to regularise interests, be realistic 

ARINZE NWAFOR, Lagos

A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has asked the aggrieved traders of Whitesand market, Otto, Oyingbo and the Lagos Mainland Local Government to regularise their areas of interest and reach an amicable settlement before the next adjourned date.

Justice Akinkunmi Idowu, on Friday, directing the parties told the claimants, through one of their representatives, Alhaja Sherifat Thanni, that getting a settlement on the matter is dependent  on the traders being realistic.

Following a prior change of counsel, the claimants’ new counsel, Niran Orojinmi, told the court that the aggrieved traders remained firm on their position of not vacating the market for demolition by the Local government but are asking to nominate the Contractor.

Orojinmi said, “The claimants want to appoint the Contractor, while the Local Government brings an Engineer to supervise.”

The claimants’ counsel further told the court that the traders had earlier worked to get a developer for the market but failed.

He  said “The owner of the land determines what will be built on the land.”

Earlier in the proceeding, Thanni, one of the representatives of the claimants, told the court that the Whitesand market is in good condition and the drainage is the only part that needs to be fixed.

“We [the Whitesand market traders] do not want them to rebuild the market; we are ready to fix the drainage,” Thanni told the court.

Further, the representative of the claimants told the court that the Local Government intended to construct story buildings and sell the shops at N9 million, an amount that is unaffordable for the complainants who are predominantly food item traders and need to stay on the ground floor level.

The counsel representing the defendants, Lagos Mainland Local Government and the Attorney General and Lagos State Commissioner for Justice, Tope Kolawole, told the court that the cost of building materials had increased.

Kolawole also said that the Local Government will give the court a copy of the market design after the Judge directed that the building must have a section to enable the claimants to decide where to stay based on what they sell.

However, Kolawole decried the extension of the matter and told the court that the parties have been meeting for settlement since last year.

Idowu adjourned the matter to January 12, 2024, for further proceedings.

The claimants, represented by Sherifat Thanni, Alhaji Garba Malami and Orji Onuoha, approached the court over allegations that the Lagos Mainland Local Government is moving to take over the White Sand market and demolishing its structures under the guise of reconstructing the market.

The claimants filed the suit marked LD/70789CM/2022 against the Lagos Mainland Local Government and the Attorney General and Lagos State Commissioner for Justice as first and second respondents.