There was outrage on Tuesday as the entrance into the upscale Banana Island of Ikoyi area of Lagos was abruptly shut by armed men believed to be acting on orders of a government agency.
For several hours, the estate gates were guarded by armed men leading to long, stationary queues of cars.
The gridlock spilled into Gerard Road as estate security personnel had a hard time managing the crowd that besieged the estate gate.
The closure left both residents and visitors stranded, while there were conflicting reports about which government agency ordered the lockdown.
Frustrated over the closure and attendant gridlock, An X user, posting under the handle #Nothingispromised, wrote, “We love suffering in this country. So because government officials dey Banana Island, no car fit go in or out of the estate until they are gone? They have successfully created another crazy traffic that will affect Lekki and part of Ikoyi.”
In a viral broadcast message, the Lagos State Government Agency was fingered as being behind the lockdown.
The message read, “Lagos State Govt agency has just shut down Banana Island — disallowing residents and visitors from entering or leaving.”
But in a terse reaction, the LABSCA absolved itself from the action.
Speaking to our correspondent, LABSCA spokesperson, Adu Ademuyiwa dismissed the claims as baseless.
“It is not true. Our men are not there and we have not stopped any residents or visitors from entering their estate on Banana Island. Proper notice would be given when demolition of illegal buildings is scheduled,” he said.
PUNCH Metro however gathered that the officials were from the Federal Ministry of Housing.
A source in the Federal Ministry of Works confirmed this while reacting to inquiries that the ministry was responsible for the development.
“The Ministry of Works is not responsible for the lockdown. It is the ministry of housing. We are now a separate entity. You can direct your enquiries to the Ministry of Housing to confirm why their officials were there.”
Efforts to get a reaction from the Federal Ministry of Housing were unsuccessful as of the time this report was filed.
Meanwhile, there were speculations that the shutdown was due to the proposed demolition of the Banana Club House which was said to have been met with resistance by the residents.
It was also speculated that government officials were at the estate to enforce the construction of a proposed access road to a new estate within Banana Island which resulted in the intervention of residents who were said to have rejected the move and quickly called in police to prevent any escalation.
