Owode Onirin Market Crisis: Court Adjourns Matter To October 13 …Orders Parties To Maintain Status Quo

Justice M.A Savage of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, has ordered parties in the Owode Onirin Spare Parts Market To maintain status quo, while the matter was adjourned to Monday October 13.

Also speaking in an interview, the lead counsel of the applicants in the matter, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, urged the aggrieved traders to maintain peace while the matter lasts, saying that they should not take the law into their hands.

Recall that on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at about 4:30 a.m., Owode Motor Spare Parts Market was allegedly invaded by a suspected landgrabber, armed thugs and heavily armed policemen, who demolished over 500 shops, with goods worth millions of naira destroyed.

The attack prompted the traders to stage a peaceful protest and submit a petition to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly and the State Governor on March 27, 2025.

The Chairman of the traders, Comrade Abiodun Hammed, said in an interview that when there was no meaningful response from the government, they went to back court in a legal dispute: B.I. Olowu vs Shomolu Local Government and Kosofe Local Government (Suit No. ID/1757/1994) in the High Court in Ikeja.

“On Monday, June 2, 2025, the court granted an injunction for all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the case, with a further hearing set for July 2, 2025.

“But in violation of the court order, on Thursday, June 19, a suspected landgrabber mobilised hundreds of thugs and was again accompanied by dozens of armed policemen to further demolish shops and intimidate traders.

“The invading team shot sporadically to disperse traders and facilitate the destruction, injuring several individuals in the process.

“We have both pictorial and video evidences of the invasion and its aftermath,” Comrade Hammed said.

It was alleged by the marketers that men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) were part of the operation as they were there with their towing truck to tow vehicles from the market.