A Lagos-based baker, Fuller Cheng, whose bakery is located at 24 Olufemi Road, Surulere, has cried out for justice and restitution after suspected hoodlums allegedly invaded the premises and demolished the property.
Cheng told PUNCH Metro on Monday that staff members on duty during the invasion were attacked with weapons before the hoodlums pulled down the bungalow and destroyed newly purchased equipment funded through loans and seed capital.
When our correspondent visited the scene on Monday, various bakery machines lay buried under piles of rubble.
Speaking through tears, Cheng said the destroyed property and equipment were worth over N500m.
He said, “This is my bakery. We have prospects. When things were going well, somebody organised over 40 armed thugs. That day was bleak and terrifying for all of us.
“We had staff members on the morning shift slicing and bagging bread. They stormed the premises with machetes; others came with guns and shoved the security aside.
“They started beating my people and demolishing the building while my workers were still inside. It is the grace of God that we are not talking about homicide today—people could have died inside.”
He added that the attackers even looted the building’s gate after attempting, as he put it, “to beat us and build on top of our dead bodies.”
“I want the full course of the law to run. I need protection. I have lost property worth over N500m—brand-new rotary ovens, brand-new mixers, and more. I want restitution. I want justice.
“How could they vanish after doing all this? I want every one of them apprehended. Since the demolition, we have been unable to produce. We are bleeding money.
Most of the funds were seed capital, and I took loans to build this business. How am I supposed to pay them back? ”
Cheng’s lawyer, Chris Johnson, maintained that his client holds a valid tenancy that runs until 2028.
He explained that earlier in the year, an individual appeared with a lawyer claiming to be the new owner, even though the landlord had not communicated any change, and Cheng’s tenancy agreement remained in force. Punch
