A heartbroken woman, Augustina Johnson-boyi, has appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, and various women’s rights groups for intervention after an enforcement team allegedly stormed her home, cleared out her belongings, and left her stranded on the streets, allegedly on the orders of her estranged, United Kingdom-based husband, Oris Johnson-boyi.
She claimed the operation was carried out while she was away from the property located at 95, Badwari Road, Ajah, Lagos State.
According to Augustina, the residential house is currently the subject of an active legal battle before the Court of Appeal in Asaba, Delta State.
She alleged that the eviction crew consisted of suspected hired thugs, members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), and individuals identifying themselves as police officers.
Our reporter reached out to her estranged husband, Oris, contacted Oris’s lawyer, Theresa Ovuru, and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Langbasa Police Division, a Chief Superintendent of Police, Dele Adeyoju, who all claimed that Augustina was lying.
Recounting the ordeal of being moved out of the building, Augustina explained that she received a frantic phone call from concerned neighbours on that fateful day, informing her that some individuals had begun packing her things out of the house without prior notification.
She immediately rushed back to the scene by motorcycle.
“When I arrived, I found that they had already driven out the 15-year-old girl who was living with me,” Augustina said, adding: “I met some of my belongings outside, but not much.
“They told me they were taking my things somewhere.
“When I asked where, they said they didn’t know and told me to call my husband.”
The situation escalated rapidly as Augustina demanded to see legal authorisation for the eviction.
“To be sincere, I started fighting them,” she stated.
“I demanded to see their letter of inspection or whatever legal document authorised them to come there.
“There was a policewoman there, so I asked her for the letter and inquired where the officers were deployed from.
“I took a photograph of the policewoman and another man who was wearing what looked like an army uniform.”
Augustina alleged that she was physically restrained when she attempted to access the house to retrieve money kept in her wardrobe.
Upon breaking free and running upstairs, she allegedly encountered her ex-husband’s girlfriend inside the apartment.
“I confronted her and said: ‘I don’t understand. This matter is still in the Court of Appeal. What judgment are you people using to remove everything from this place?’”
Augustina added that neighbours and bystanders were threatened with arrest by the enforcement team if they attempted to film the incident.
The confrontation ended with Augustina being arrested and taken to the Langbasa Police Station after she attempted to block the exit to protect her remaining property.
While at the station, she lost consciousness and later woke up at a local medical centre.
“When I opened my eyes, I asked: ‘What am I doing here?’
“They told me the DPO had ordered them to bring me to the centre,” she said.
“However, the people at the hospital and others told me the DPO said I should not come back, stating they had finished what they came for.”
According to Augustina, upon inquiring further with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), she was told that the police were acting on information that she refused to vacate the premises.
“I explained to the DPO that I was not pleased with the initial judgment, which is why I appealed it,” Augustina said, noting that her husband had initially secured a lower court judgment in Asaba ordering him to pay her N5 million, a sum she rejected as insufficient given her personal investments into building the property.
“I used my own money and time to build that property and the shop there.
“How could I just lose everything like that? We were married, and it shouldn’t just end like this.”
Currently, Augustina said she has been left with nothing but the clothes on her back, while OPC members have been stationed at the compound to block her access.
Her vehicle remains trapped inside the compound, and the locks to the flat have reportedly been changed.
