Tina Amanda
Ms Ogochukwu Ikebulam, a resident of 20 Post Office Road, YKC, Woji, Port Harcourt, have been left stranded with her three children after her apartment was allegedly deroofed by her landlord.
Speaking to journalists on the incident, Ms Ikebulam lamented that her property was destroyed due to rainfall while calling for justice.
“I am a mother of three, I owed my landlord some rent which I promised to pay, but in the meantime, I did not have the money to pay.
“I pleaded with him to give me some time that I would pay only for him to send his Engineer to come and deroof my apartment. My property in the house was all soaked, everything destroyed.
“I am begging the general public and the Police to look into the matter because it is inhumane. How can somebody treat his fellow human like this? It is not fair.
“I was in the house that morning when they came to deroof my apartment. I thought it was even a joke. I asked the Engineer why he was trying to remove the roof of my house; he said the landlord gave him an order to deroof my house.
“I have reported the matter to Woji Police Station, and the Police invited them to the station; they said they would come, but they did not come since they all ran away; we are looking for them”.
A Human Rights Advocacy Group Lawyer, Watch For Justice International Initiative, Gbenga Oladapo, described the alleged action of the landlord as callous.
He told our Correspondent in an interview that the law frowns at such wicked and cowardly acts.
Oladapo said everybody involved, the landlord who ordered the house roof to be removed and the Engineer who executed such wicked order, should be arrested and prosecuted.
He affirmed that such an act is malicious damage to property as the alleged action of the landlord exposed both the mother and her children to grave danger.
He said It is unacceptable, reprehensible and highly condemnable, adding those involved should be arrested to serve as a deterrent to others who feel they can take the laws into their hands in a civil society.
Oladapo clarified that the recovery of premises law of Rivers State does not tolerate such act as no landlord or whosoever has the right to deroof a tenant’s house without the court order, even if the tenant owes a hundred million.
He explained further that any landlord who feels they will evict a tenant is expected to go to court and get the order of the court to evict that tenant and not to deroof the tenant’s house.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach the landlord Obinna Eze, proved abortive as he did not pick up several calls put across to his phone line by our Correspondent.
The Spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe Koko, has yet to respond.
