A large part of the Island was originally part of jurisdiction of the Oniru chieftaincy family of Lagos with tenants inhabiting the land. In 1948, the Lagos Executive Development Board paid 250,000 pounds as compensation for the land acquired from the Oniru family and an additional 150,000 pounds as compensation for the inhabitants and shrines destroyed. The inhabitants were later resettled at Maroko village. Victoria Island was originally surrounded entirely by water. It was bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the south, the mouth of the Lagos Lagoon on the West, the Five Cowrie Creek to the North, and swamps on the East. The colonial government began the process of filling in the eastern swamps to reduce mosquito breeding areas. This created a land bridge between Victoria Island and Lekki Peninsula ending its existence as a true island.