DPO applauded for professional mediation in landlord, tenant dispute

Juliana Francis

The Executive Director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC). Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma has commended the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), in charge of Gowon Estate Police Division, Egbeda, Lagos State, Suleiman Kabir, for maintaining professional standards.

According to Nwanguma, a case was reported to the Division by a landlord against his tenant.

The landlord had issued a quit notice to the said tenant who lives with his wife, two children, and a relative.  The tenant revealed that the landlord’s grouse was that his (the tenant’s) wife was not patronizing his (the landlord’s) wife who sells assorted goods in her shop in front of the house.

Nwanguma further said: “The landlord, therefore, asked him to quit and cut him off from water supply. They had to be going outside to buy water.  The tenant, a tricycle operator, said he went to plead with the landlord to reconsider his decision, but he stood his ground because his wife insisted the tenant must leave. The tenant begged for time to find another vacant apartment to rent.  But the landlord and his family members wanted the tenant to leave even as the quit notice had not been properly served.  The tenant made up his mind to leave and was frantically looking for a vacant space to rent.”

The human rights fighter further recounted that the impatient and malicious landlord started locking the tenant out.

“The tenant returned home from his business one night and the landlord had locked the gate. His plea to the landlord to open the gate for him to drive in his tricycle was turned down.  He ended up sleeping outside inside his tricycle.  The second day, he came back, and again, the gate was locked.  He pleaded again but the landlord’s daughter told him that they will not allow him in until he parks out.  Unable to go through the inconvenience of sleeping outside inside his tricycle again for another night, he broke the padlock and moved in. The landlord’s daughter threatened that he and his family will rot in jail,” recalled Nwanguma.

The following day, the landlord went and reported to Gowon Estate Police Division and police personnel came to arrest the tenant.

Nwanguma stated: “After hearing both parties, the police blamed the landlord for locking out his tenant and cutting him off the water supply, even without a proper quit notice.  They got the parties to reach a mutual agreement that the landlord should give the tenant up to the end of August to find alternative accommodation and move out while the landlord should in the interim, reconnect him to the water supply. They asked them to go and maintain peace. This was contrary to the familiar practice. The police neither detained nor asked for any money from the accused. This is highly commendable.”