Panic gripped landlords and residents of the highbrow Magodo area of Lagos metropolis, as combat-ready policemen took over the area yesterday to execute a Supreme Court judgment on behalf of the landowners.

The Nation reports that at about 4 am on Wednesday, the gate of Shangisha Estate, off CMD Road, was locked.

Nobody could either come in or go out. Commercial activities were being paralysed.

A security officer told a resident who demanded entry: “Nobody can go in or out, for now, that’s the order”.

Some of the occupiers of properties, residents and business owners who spoke with journalists, lamented the hardship faced in the early hours of today.

Some of the occupiers of the properties claimed that they bought the lands from the Lagos state government and were issued certificates of occupancy, adding that they were not aware of any litigation on the property when they bought them.