6th October, 2019
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Homeowners in Royal Gardens Estate, Ajah Lagos, have protested against what they regard as exploitation and extortion by the estate developer, Trojan Estates Limited and it agent, Broll Properties Nigeria Limited through imposition of “ridiculous annual service fees”.
The residents said the estate developer and the facility manager of the estate have continued to unilaterally and arbitrarily raise their yearly service charge, with the imposed charge increased by over 200% in the last 4 years, in spite of continuous deterioration of services to the residents.
The homeowners, under the umbrella of Royal Gardens Estate Residents Association, RGERA, during a peaceful protest in the estate on Saturday 5 October 2019, also lamented being humiliated and treated like slaves on their properties, by denying them access to electricity, water, and adequate security.
The residents were distraught that they were not getting a fair deal of things they were promised by the estate promoters, Trojan Estates Limited, before they ought the properties.
The residents said their several complaints to EKDC, NERC and the Nigeria Police Ajah in a bid to call Trojan and Broll to order had not yielded any tangible result.
They also said despite approaching the court to secure an injunction to restrain the company and its agents, harassment from them has remained unabated.
According to RGERA, part of what the estate promoters promised the homeowners are Ultra-modern Shopping mall and a school beside the estate, Golf course, Swimming Pool among others.
RGERA said none of these promises had been fulfilled by Trojan Estates Limited after collecting huge sums from buyers of land in the Ajah area and secretly taking over the management of services in the estate through one of their proxies, Broll Properties Limited.
“Having succeeded in imposing Broll as facility managers, against the letter of the signed deed of agreement which stipulates that the plot owners enter into an agreement with a facility manager, Trojan and Broll have continued to exploit and profiteer from their stranglehold in the provision of services to the estate,” Vice-Chairman of RGERA, Sylvester Ekpen said in a statement.
According to a released statement, “these services, in turn, are substandard and not comparable to those provided in surrounding estates where plot owners pay substantially less.”
The statement further alleged that despite several years of pleas from the residents and plot owners for implementation of the section of the deed of assignment that governs the Estate management contract and provides for a service level agreement, Trojan and Broll had refused to accept it.
RGERA also alleged several incidents of burglary, theft, security breaches, and escalation of accidents without the required response from the companies.
Court documents shown to PM News, dated 26 November 2015, revealed a court order directing Trojan and Broll to restore water supply, resume collection of waste and provision of security and access control at Royal Gardens Estate which were stopped during the pendency of the suit.
Also parts of the allegations made by the residents were exorbitant and dubious charges.
The Maintenance Secretary of RGERA, Engr. Sebastine Osita, said he paid unreasonable amount of money for service charge when he had not to moved to his house.
“I moved in to my house in 2016 but they charged me from 2014. They also collected money to clear the plot but when I started working on that land, I was the one who cleared the place.
“We paid N250,000 for meter while the market’s price is N46,000,” Osita said.
When P.M.News contacted Mr. Adigun Afolabi, the Broll’s Facility Manager in the estate, he declined comment.