Messrs 1004 Estate Limited Vows To Resist Thuggery In 1004 Estate

Against the backdrop of the face-off between the management and residents of 1004 Estate in Victoria Island, Lagos, the estate’s facility manager, Messrs 1004 Estate Limited has vowed not tolerate any semblance of hostility or thuggery in the highbrow residential estate.

The Managing Director of 10004 Estate Limited, Mr. Samuel Ukpong who gave the warning, described the estate as a well-run place with rules and regulations guiding its management, and not a training ground for thugs.

Ukpong gave the explanation in Lagos at a recent media parley which he used to address the ongoing face-off between the management and the residents’ association. “The gangsterism which some apartment owners and leaders of the association have brought into the estate cannot be tolerated. 1004 estate is a well-run place and we do not tolerate anything that has a semblance of hostility or thuggery,” he said.

According to him, the fact that residents of the estate cut across nationals of many countries and continents who work with international organisations in Lagos and oil companies, means that decorum must be maintained at all times as anything that tends towards disorganisation and violence would create unnecessary apprehension.

“We are restrained from engaging the association in any conflict, not because we don’t have the capacity but because we want to present the estate as a secure place to live and work in, particularly with 60 percent of the flats occupied by foreigners. We know that they will not like to see this place engulfed in any kind of crisis or bloodshed or fighting, these expatriates are from different countries of the world.

They find the environment very conducive. You see them walking around in the evenings because they are confident that their security is guaranteed 24 hours,” he added.

He further said that at the estate, services that make occupants comfortable are adequately provided, such as banks, schools, swimming pools, and other recreational facilities.

“We make sure power is constant; water supply is on 24 hours. The elevators are working perfectly, there’s enough parking lot that accommodates residents’ vehicles. And these are constantly maintained. So, the estate is not a place for violence or thuggery. It is a well-organised place that it beat my imagination recently when some policemen, thugs and some other security agents invaded the complex to cause a breach of peace. Of course, we could not return violence for violence,” said Ukpong.

“Apart from the fact that we have determined to be civil in our approach to such level of unwarranted provocation, we also know that violent retaliation would create panic and apprehension in the minds of right-thinking residents, particularly the expatriates, that we are trying to replicate Boko Haram. We have decided to be law-abiding, and I think that’s the path of honour,” he added.