President Muhammad Buhari has directed that the control of Obalende Eid Prayer Ground be returned to the Lagos Jama’atul Muslimeen Council of the Lagos Central Mosque.
In giving approval to the report of a special committee he set up to investigate and report to him the issues in conflict between the Lagos Muslim community on one hand and federal government agencies, particularly those stationed at the Dodan Barracks concerning the management and control of the land, President Buhari directed all those government agencies to “recognize and respect the fact that the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground legally belongs to the Jama’atul Muslimeen Council of the Lagos Central Mosque.”
President Buhari directed that the “desecration of the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground by its profane use as a dump site should stop with immediate effect” and to this effect, the Dodan Barracks authorities should remove all containers and debris from the prayer ground.
The president also directed that the Dodan Barracks authorities “ensure that the Muslim Communities and their agents have unrestricted access to the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground at all times.”
Lastly, he advised the government of Lagos State to, “if deemed fit, (to) grant the Jama’atal Muslimeen Council a Certificate of Occupancy over the area identified in the Survey Plan.”
The committee that carried out the assignment as directed by the president under the leadership of Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff included the Minister of Works and Housing, the Minister of Defence, the Director-General of the DSS and the Chief of Defence Staff and the Permanent Secretary, State House.
President on March 23, 2023, gave the assurance that he would resolve the tussle over the ownership of Obalende Muslim Prayer Ground between the Lagos State Jama’atul Muslimeen (Muslim Community) and security agencies.
To that end, he has set up a committee under the leadership of the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, to advise him on the processes and all that needs to be done to do justice to all parties involved.
Speaking at the State House at a meeting with members of the Jama’atul Muslimeen, Buhari said justice and fairness were principles very dear to him and he would hold on to them as long as he lived.
“I have listened to the enlightening historical details you have read. You will get justice as far as this is concerned. I commend you for adopting a peaceful approach to seeking justice, without heating up the polity. The Chief of Staff will get back to you in two weeks,” he said.
In their presentation, the group said they had come to the president as a last resort, having explored several avenues to get justice to no avail.
In their account as rendered by the leader of the delegation Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the organization, the Lagos State Muslim Community informed the president that their ownership of the land dated back to 1931 when the Nigerian Government made an “Absolute Grant” of 3.11 acres of the land in question to serve as Muslim Prayer Ground at the new Hausa Settlement, Ikoyi Plains, Lagos, now known as Obalende.
That, they explained, was much earlier than the arrival in the area of their neighbours, the Dodan Barracks, that came after the collapse of the First Republic.
The Lagos Muslim Community further presented documents to show approval of the ownership of the land, signed by the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, under Obasanjo’s Military Administration, affirming their ownership of the land.
They reported that “in the last few years, officials of the Department of State Services, DSS, at Dodan Barracks have been threatening to deny the Muslims access into the prayer ground because the Muslim Community was claiming ownership of it, apparently based on their erroneous understanding that the Prayer Ground belongs to Dodan Barracks.”
Other members of the committee set up by the president are the Minister of Defence, Works and Housing, the Chief of Army Staff, the Director General, Department of State Services and others recognised as stakeholders in the matter.
