2 weeks ago
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…absolves Ex-Commissioner, Ojuko of land grabbing allegation
Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
A traditional ruler in Ogun State, the Olu of Okikilu, Oba Johnson Adeleye, has appealed to the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, to save his community from the menace of land grabbers, who have continued to lay siege to the community.
Oba Adeleye, who made this appeal at a press conference held in Ota, at the weekend, said the call had become imperative to call the attention of the state government to the activities of land grabbers who have been seizing and selling acre of Akawonmado land belonging to 7 villages.
The monarch added that the suspected land grabbers allegedly being led by a land agent, Nurudeen Obasanya, began to lay siege to the community in 2015.
He further explained that the land agent and his boys were allegedly invited by the Salako and Akore Families, who falsely claimed that their forebears owned the large expanse of land.
According to Oba Adeleye, the two families began a dispute over the land in 1983 but lost the matter at the Supreme Court in 2004.
He noted that the community comprising seven villages were living in peace and harmony until 2015 when the families allegedly invited the land grabbers to begin forceful and illegal taking over of the land, despite the Supreme Court judgement.
The traditional ruler, however, urged Governor Abiodun to wade into the issue before it degenerates into chaos and a communal clash.
Corroborating Oba Adeleye, Chief Elijah Adeogun, said: “The Salako family was in court with our fathers from 1983 to 2004 up till the Supreme Court. Disputes had erupted on the land since 1983 between our fathers and Salako and Akinde’s families.
“We were living in peace and harmony till 2015 when Jimoh Salako, Rafiu Salako and Dauda Adeniyi, whose fathers lost in the land case in 2004, brought a land agent, one Nurudeen Obasanya, who led suspected land grabbers to the land. They began to sell the illegally and issue receipts to the suspected buyers. We wrote a petition to the Inspector General of Police and attached all the necessary documents on the judgement we got on the land, including the execution of judgement and warrant of possession we got in 2015 at the State High Court, Agbara.
“It was a thing of surprise that despite that the police executed the judgement we got at the Supreme Court and allowed us to take possession of the land, the land grabbers still went ahead to sell the land. The land grabbers have even encroached the 2,000 acres of land we sold to the Winners Chapel and another 40 acres of land bought by a private organization, to resell the land.
“For purposes of unambiguous clarity, the mentioned portions of lands with concise layout belong to our ancestors with concrete evidence sandwiched with detailed court judgements to the levels of Supreme Court affirming our entitlement to the community land as inheritance from our ancestors.
“Sequence upon several litigations instigated by the family, Supreme Court has judged on the matter on suit number SC 259/2001 on 21st Day of May 2004 as lack of evident of ownership or entitlement by the Salako and Akore Families which were natives of Abeokuta in Ogun State. The community land in contest, however, is situated on Awori-land at Atan Community, So the question of their ownership was blatantly refuted by the court of law to the levels of the Supreme Court in 2004.
“Due to the claims of displacement and forceful possession as mentioned on the micro blogging ‘x’ post, the Akowonwado families which comprises of seven villages of Ilasa, Oko-Omi, Okikilu, Erinle, Ore, Akinleye and Saari village have lived and occupied the said land for over 200 years by their ancestors, who migrated from Ile-Ife and resettled on the expanse of the surveyed layout portions of the aforementioned villages and had continuously handed over the lands as inheritance to their children hitherto.
“Our petitions started from Zone 2 of the Nigeria Police upscaled to Abuja headquarters where they were defeated as their allegations lacked any merit and documents to back up their ownership claims were not provided. One of the means employed was to use media and microblogging platforms in continuous blackmailing the Akowonwado Family as land grabbers of their fathers’ land which were nothing but a blatant lie”.
Speaking further, Elijah said that the violent encroachment to the community lands were taken in 2017 after the death of Alimi Toriola, Jimoh Salako and Idayatu Salako, who were parties and witnesses to the Salako/Akore Supreme Court case.
Adeogun, however, refuted the allegations of land grabbing leveled by Salako and Akore Families against a Senior Special Assistant to the Ogun State governor, Jide Ojuko.
He said that contrary to the allegations, Ojuko, who was a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, has never involved himself in the land issue, despite being a prominent indigene of the community.
English (US) ·