BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Some residents of Osun State have decried the excesses of land grabbers in the state, also known as ‘Omo Onile,.
They accused them of attacking and forcefully evicting land owners and artisans from construction sites.
According to the affected land owners, surveyors, estate developers and other workers at construction sites in Osogbo and environs, including other urban communities in the state, had abandoned construction sites where they were building houses for their clients for fear of being maimed or killed.
The Point learnt that the hoodlums, who pride themselves as owners of the land, engage in routine checks on construction sites to intimidate and extort the workers and property owners. Checks by our correspondent showed that the Omo Onile are usually armed with charms, machetes and dane guns, and often inflict deep injuries on their victims.
A construction expert, Charles Adebiyi, in an interview with The Point, said, “These people constitute a serious menace to communities across the state. They are also found in other states, especially Lagos and Ogun. Their growing mindless and unrestrained actions aimed at extorting their victims include inflicting harms on hapless property owners and those who are working on sites.
“It is disturbing that they are not checked by the government and security agencies. They have no address. Sometimes they kill people on the site and run away. At the end of the day, it is the owner of the property that would be answerable for whatever happens.”
Unlike the old practice whereby they heavily tax property owners for the construction of foundations fencing and roofing of buildings, the land grabbers now charge land owners heavily even for digging of boreholes, septic tanks, construction of lintel and other construction works.
In Osogbo and other urban communities in the state, the land grabbers sometimes force house owners to part with substantial amount of money, depending on the area where their properties are built.
Adebiyi said some house owners are made to pay afresh for the land which they had bought many years ago purportedly to renew their ownership, otherwise they might lose the entire property.
“Whoever makes trouble with them may have their lives threatened. They may claim that the sale of the land is not genuine by saying that the sellers didn’t carry other members of the family along in the transaction Sometimes they would ask you to present the original family land documents which they know you might not have. If you present them, they might say that they are not genuine.
“In many cases, they would come in different groups with spurious claims that the land belongs to their ancestors. Most of these people are thugs and dangerous elements with no fixed addresses. They make spurious demands and insist that you must pay, otherwise they would destroy the property,” he said.
Last year, scores of residents of Omu-Ilase and Koka communities in Obokun Local Government Council Area of Osun State were rendered homeless after they were sacked from their properties by some land grabbers wielding dangerous weapons.
The house owners, including the king of Omu-Ilase community, Oba Amos Oparinmade, were said to have been displaced by some rampaging Omo Onile who stormed their community.
The attack was said to have followed a purported court judgment granting ownership of the land to the Agbaje family after a protracted legal tussle between two warring groups within the family.
Thugs, who usually move about in the developing areas, armed with guns, cutlasses, axes and other weapons, attacked the people and forced them to abandon their homes.
In an interview with The Point, a 23-year-old construction worker, Abdullah Akeem, narrated his experience with a notorious band of thugs for failing to pay the amount levied on him before he could be allowed to roof a building in the area.
Akeem, a carpenter and resident of Kobongbogboe area of Osogbo, explained that the hoodlums came on a motorbike and demanded for a huge amount of money before allowing him to start work on the site.
“I went with some of my colleagues to roof a house at Agunbelewo area, Osogbo. We got there around 9am and started work immediately. Two of my colleagues, who are Christians, left the site in search of food before starting work. I can say that was their saving grace on that day.
“After they left, Sheriff, the other man who was left with me joined me to arrange the planks that we planned to use. Around 9:30am, two fierce-looking men came to us and introduced themselves as Omo-Onile. They demanded for money insisting that we must pay before we could commence work on the building.
“Though I am aware of activities of Omo Onile, I never experienced their terror before in my life. I tried to be friendly with them by cracking jokes, saying, ‘Oluwa l’o ni ile ati ekun re,’ meaning God owns the land and everything on it. But, to my greatest surprise, one of them came near me and handed me a dirty slap. At that point, I realised that I was in trouble.”
“Sheriff, who witnessed the unfolding scene from a distance, took to his heels and left me alone to my fate. I went straight on my knees and begged them for pardon for replying them rudely. By then, the men were livid with anger. They threatened to kill me, saying that no one would query them. I knew I had to do something fast at that stage as they had called their other members for reinforcement.
“I begged them to allow me call the house owner to pay them but they declined my request, insisting that I should settle them or they would kill me. I resorted to praying to Allah for help to come my way. About 10 minutes later, four fierce looking men, armed with dangerous weapons, came on two motorbikes. I concluded that it might be the end of the road for me.
“Luckily, one of the four land grabbers that came in happened to be someone I had known since the days of my apprenticeship. He pleaded on my behalf and they let go after collecting the N7,000 cash that I had on me. I took to my heels immediately they left the spot.
“Though the owner of the building refunded the money that I gave to the hoodlums and bought some drugs for my treatment, I ceased from going back to work at the site,” he said.
The experience of Sunday Alo, a borehole driller, in the hands of the Omo Onile was also not cheery.
“The hoodlums usually come in large numbers to disturb us whenever we are on any site. When these hooligans come around; they would not want to listen to us. They would order us to stop work and settle them first.
“They may demand for amounts ranging from N50,000 to N150,000, depending on the site. If we fail to give them, they would destroy our tools and motorbikes or attack the workers on the site. There was a time when they injured one of our boys by attacking him with a machete on his head. We had to rush him to the hospital. The hooligans are growing wings and they have become a threat to us. The police should do something about it.”
Another victim and resident of Igbonna in Osogbo, the state capital, Mr. Femi Aderibigbe, appealed to the Police and the state government toto check the hoodlums. He said that the land grabbers constitute serious threats to construction workers in Osogbo. Sharing his experience, Aderibigbe said, “About three weeks ago at Igbonna where the construction of a shopping complex was ongoing, hoodlums besieged the site in large numbers. They disturbed the workers on site. The engineer handling the work had to settle them before they left the scene. This has become rampant in Osogbo. Government should address the issue before it gets out of hand.
“It is sad that a lot of people who are managing to put up shelters on their small pieces of land now have to pay huge amounts of money to settle the rogues before they can be allowed to do anything.”
A bricklayer, Busola Adeleye, lamented the growing menace of the Omo-Onile and their criminal conduct, alleging that they were emboldened by government’s indifference to their activities. Adeleye said, “There are some areas where we don’t work unless we negotiate with the owners of such projects to take up the responsibility of settling the hoodlums whenever they come around. The areas include Oke-Baale, Ayekale, Ota-Efun, Stadium, Agunbelewo.
“Most of the boys who parade themselves as Omo Onile are cultists. If we call the police or threaten them with arrest, they (lolice) would not answer our call.”
The affected land owners and residents appealed to the state government and the security agents to come to protect them.
A security man, Akin Adeyi, also bemoaned the activities of the land grabbers in the state. Raising concerns on the hazards of touting and hooliganism in the society, he called on the state government to nip the problem in the bud.
He said, “One is not happy with the criminal affront of the Omo Onilew, hich has become prevalent. The youths, who are usually armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, have adopted the strategy of using physical threats to extort residents and artisans who are contracted to work on the construction sites.
“In some cases, they extort their victims. Where victims cannot afford the payment of the outrageous levies, they would be brutalised and injured. This has always made residents to abandon their project sites. Governor Oyetola and the APC government had better imagine how horrifying the current security situation is to the citizens.”
Meanwhile, the Osun State Police Command has advised residents to report any threat or intimidation by land grabbers.
The command gave the assurance that offenders would be prosecuted.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola, said, “We can’t condone Omo Onile in the state. People should report to us whenever they suspect that they (Omo Onile) are coming to disturb the workers on their sites. Those we arrested in the past were not spared.”
