Former Lagos State Governorship candidate in the 2023 election of the Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and activist lawyer Deji Adeyanju have condemned the illegal demolition of a company belonging to Peter Obi younger brother. Peter Obi who is a former Governor of Anambra State and the Presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 Presidential Election.

Reports have it that the company property was pulled down by the Lagos State Government in the Ikeja area of the State.

Peter Obi in a statement yesterday lamented the unlawful demolition of his brother's property as stated on his X handle @PeterObi, He said,

"Any society where lawlessness overrides the rule of law is not destined to be a haven for investors. Recent reports showing that Nigeria’s human rights indicators have worsened merely highlight severe shortfalls in government protection for civil liberties, personal security, and basic living standards.

I know what I have been going through as a person in abuse of my human rights just because I contested a Presidential election which I have legitimate rights to do. So I imagine what small business owners, regular citizens, and vulnerable communities face every day. If this level of lawlessness can happen to someone with a registered company and legitimate means, what hope does the ordinary Nigerian have?

This morning, my youngest brother called me frantically, informing me that a group of people had invaded his company property in Ikeja, Lagos, and were demolishing the building. He had just come in from Port Harcourt and was denied entry to the property by security men who told him the building was being pulled down. They even informed him that this demolition had started over the weekend. As a peace-loving Nigerian, he quickly started processing to go to court immediately, not knowing what must have resulted in this, as they moved fast to destroy his home without any restraint.

I rushed to Lagos from Abuja after the call this morning and headed straight to the property. On arrival, I was met by security people who tried to bar me from entering the property. I humbly pleaded with them that the property belonged to my brother’s company, and from the records, the company had owned the property for over a decade. They told me they had a court judgment, and I immediately requested it. You would not believe that the court judgment they claim was issued against an unknown person, and squatters. I went further to ask about a demolition order or permit, and there was none.

How do you sue an unknown person? How does a court issue a judgment in such a farce of a case? No one was served. No name was written. Yet they showed up with excavators and began destroying a structure that had stood for over 15 years.

I immediately asked the excavators for the person who had sent them, and they said they didn’t know anyone, but they were only informed to come and demolish the house. I immediately told them to tell whoever it is that I would like to speak with them, if they can call my number, which I shared with the excavators, so that I can speak with whomever gave them the order to demolish the property.

I stood there from 10am to 2pm, waiting to get a call at least and nobody called or came. The contractor even said he didn’t know who sent him. Two men later came and said they would like us to go to a police station. I asked if they even had a demolition order but they had nothing. The whole situation screamed of coordinated lawlessness and impunity. Our country has become lawless.

I just started reminiscing about how just over the weekend, I had a meeting when someone told me how he has investments in Ghana, Senegal, and the Benin Republic, but won’t touch Nigeria despite his market being here. I asked him why. His answer was piercing: “Nigeria is a lawless country. Until we have laws that protect people, nobody will invest in Nigeria.”

I am just shocked. How did Nigeria get to this level of lawlessness?

What kind of country are we trying to build when the rights of citizens, their lives, their properties, and their voices are trampled upon daily?

I remain committed to a better Nigeria where lawlessness will be a thing of the past, protection of life and property, respect for human rights, care for the less privileged, and basic education for all children.

A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO"

Reacting, Gbadebo Rhodes, on his official handle on Wednesday, said he was deeply saddened by this level of lawlessness and recklessness, a notorious pattern of irresponsibility that has now been normalized by the parasitic culture of the ruling party. 

He said, data at both the state and national levels show Nigerians are going through hell in the hands of APC with the level of Lawlessness. The cost has resulted in the exit of multinationals and a drought in the inflow of foreign direct investments. he said, 

"Lagos must be a state that values property rights and adheres strictly to the rule of law. Unfortunately, the state is being governed by juvenile and myopic politicians who are preoccupied with only that which they can extract from the system.

It's a total shame and this recklessness should stand condemned by all. #OurLagos"

Deji Adeyanju reacting questioned why the property was brought down without allowing the owner to remove his belongings. On his facebook page, he wrote

"Where are we heading in this country? Why was Peter Obi's brother's property demolished in Lagos? And he was not allowed to remove his property. What kind of politics is this, for God's sake?" he narrated.