Hoodlums take over abandoned federal secretariat in Lagos

The once bubbling federal secretariat located in Ikoyi, Lagos, has become a shadow of its past as hoodlums and worshippers have taken over the 12-storey complex. This old secretariat complex was abandoned 24 year ago (1991), following the relocation of the federal capital to Abuja. Those who spoke to our correspondent on Wednesday when she visited the place agreed to do so on the condition of anonymity, due to the presence of policemen around the complex. They said they observed movement of people within the complex, especially at night, but could not explain what they were always doing there. “The only activity that goes on here during the day is that Muslims pray in a makeshift mosque inside the complex on Fridays but there are also rumours that some criminals also go there at night,” a commercial driver operating in the area, said. The complex comprising three towers of 12-storey buildings was conceived by the Gen. Yakubu Gowon-led military government in 1975, to cater for its administrative needs when Lagos was still the federal capital. After the capital was moved to Abuja, the complex was neglected but was later given out through a concession agreement in 2006 to Resort International Limited owned by a businessman and lawyer, Mr. Wale Babalakin, to redevelop into three and two-bedroom condominiums. The cost of the concession was put at N7.2bn. Upon completion, the building was expected to house 480 families. The development was, however, halted when the Lagos State Government later passed the bill of the Ikoyi/Victoria Model City Plan in 2006, and insisted that the secretariat remained an institutional building, and could not be converted to other uses. The bill was signed into law by immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, later in 2009, providing for the establishment of the state’s Model City Development Authority, which further aggravated the dispute over the complex. Almost 10 years after the concession, the complex has been overtaken by weeds and has not been put to any use. A policeman from the nearby Alagbon police station said the complex was out of bounds to the public. “We guard this place and any enquiries about the complex are highly prohibited. Nobody is allowed to come in except he is a policeman on guard,” he said. Another policeman said the secretariat had been taken over by weeds, “There is no activity in there, except you want to go in and observe nature,” he added. A petty trader around the Nigeria Immigration Office in the area, however, told our correspondent that the policemen only guarded the place during the day, closing by 7pm and leaving the complex to hoodlums who moved around unhindered. “It is a different matter at night, especially late in the night. You will notice some funny movement around the area,” she stated. The trader, who said she had been selling in the area for the past two years, added that she had heard stories that the place also served as a hideout for local drug dealers and other criminals. “There is no way the policemen can patrol the whole complex because that is not even their primary duty and no ordinary person dares go in there if he has no business being there,” she said. Copyright PUNCH