The resident accused the developer of several attempts to sell the green area of the estate and unleash terror on residents.
They said after refusal and attempts to ward off unsuspecting buyers from the green area through a caveat mounted in the field, the developer resorted to bringing armed security officers to forcefully pull down the caveat and brutalise anyone that opposes their mission.
The Public Relations Officer of Pearl Garden Estate Residents Association, Godwin Egbebe, who spoke with The Guardian, said the developer came with some armed policemen in uniforms to the estate, who claimed they were from the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in Abuja to serve the residents warrant not to disrupt the developer from selling the green area of the estate.
He said when the CSO of the estate simply identified as Adewale, accosted them, they brutalised him and left him with severe injury.
Egbebe said Adewale, who accosted the armed men as part of his duty, is now battling for his life in the hospital.
“On February 16, 2021, the former developer of this place sent his boys and some policemen with arms, claiming that they were from Abuja, the AIG’s office, they said they have a warrant to come and serve some people in the estate.
“While they came in, the CSO and security men allowed them in because that is our rules, that if any government official comes to the estate, they must oblige them and allow them come in because we are law abiding citizens.
“So, they allowed them in. Suddenly, they went to our green area and that green area was what made many of us to buy into this estate. The majority of the facilities that made us buy into this estate, the man has sold everything and when we heard an inkling that he wants to sell this place, we had to put a caveat that buyers should beware. We warned them to not come close because that is a green area for the estate.
“Yesterday, when they came, they went straight to that place and removed all the signboards and when the CSO and security men wanted to resist him, they pounced on the CSO, beat him to stupor. He is still in comma in the hospital.
“Our CSO is in the hospital now. It is documented and on our layout that the area is a green area. We don’t know where Kelechi is after that incident,” he narrated.
Another resident of the estate, who gave her name as Oby Mbamobi, said she saw some strange men enter the estate who brutalised the chief security officer of the estate when he accosted them to find out who they were and their mission.
She said the CSO was severely injured and currently in the hospital receiving treatment.
“Yesterday, we saw some boys that happened to be the former CMD boys beating our current CSO. The CSO is a family man with children. He left home to work, but he was brutalised and admitted in the hospital. This is not fair.
“They were from the former people taking care of the estate before we took over from them. They have done a lot of sinister things in the past before we finally took it over from them,” she said.
Odimbanobi narrated how the former developer had been cruel to residents of the estate, which made them live in fear until they revolted and took charge of the estate.
“The former developer was so mean to all the residents. He placed restrictions on our movement and freedom, even to our children. He did not allow our children to come out and play. He and his boys were behaving like thugs.
“We were so scared living in a place where we pay our bills, that is supposed to be our home for us to stay freely. We had to hide our children for fear of them getting harmed.
“After we took over from them, everything became normal, we had our freedom. But yesterday, he came with those men and we were scared. They injured our CSO. They came here as if they had it in mind of inflicting injury on anyone of us that resist them,” she explained.
She, however, called on the Lagos state government to fish out and bring to book those responsible for the attack on the CSO, who she said is battling for his life at the hospital due to the degree of injury.