Some directors in the Osun State Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning have been accused of grabbing and selling lands at the Agric Farm Settlement, Oke-Osun, Osogbo, capital of the state.
The directors affected in the land grabbing scandal include Messrs Falope; Omisore Olusegun J. and Emmanuel Oladejo.
According to a petition addressed to the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, a copy was obtained by The Point, the directors spear-headed and illegally facilitated the sale of a whopping 36 acres of land in the farm settlement location for the sum of N1 billion.
The government officials, according to the petition signed by the landowners’ lawyer, Lekan Alabi, invaded the land with armed security operatives, chased away farmers and swapped the original pillars on the land before allegedly selling the lands to their cronies.
The petition revealed that, “verifiable history has it that sometimes in the year 1957, the then government of the Western Region of Nigeria made some efforts in acquiring the land at Agric Farm Settlement, Oke-Osun, Osogbo solely for farming purposes. The said land, which involved the lands of some families in Ede and only a few families in Osogbo was then allegedly acquired with no compensation paid to relevant families.”
It was also gathered that the settlement was not used for the purpose in which it was acquired by the then Western government.
Meanwhile, the affected families in Osogbo have petitioned the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, urging him to investigate the alleged conversion of lands and the same to some estate developers and the directors’ cronies.
President Bola Tinubu, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Inspector General of Police, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abuja, Western Security Network, Amotekun Osun, Area Commander, Nigeria Police Force, Osogbo and the Commissioner of Police in Osun, the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 11, Osogbo, and the Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service were also copied in the petition for urgent intervention.
The landowners and farmers of the lands at Agric Farm Settlement, represented by Kabiru Osuolale, Hammed Yekeen, Maruf Adebayo, Tajudeen Ajao, Rabiu Lateef, Azeez Oladejo and Suleiman Saheed, accused officials of the Osun State Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning of illegally converting their lands at Agric Farm Settlement, Oke-Osun, Osogbo, and selling them to highest bidders.
The affected landowners and farmers, in a petition dated January 23, 2025 and signed by their lawyer, Lekan Alabi on behalf of Alabi & Egbetokun & Co., urged Tinubu, Adeleke and other top leaders of the country to save them from what they described as an “ongoing rage of injustice and incessant desperation of some directors in the Osun Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning.”
The petition further accused the government officials of illegal invasion, forcible entry, threats to life, fraudulent conversion, and conduct likely to cause breach of peace, and demanded that the matter be looked into, investigated and addressed as a matter of utmost urgency.
“Despite the apparent and irredeemable fundamental flaws that bedeviled the purported acquisition process, the families in question chose to maintain peace and hope that the government will eventually do the needful.
“To the utter shock of these families, the land was never used for the alleged purpose of acquisition in any way whatsoever. Conversely, it turned out to be the joint cake of corrupt government officials who now take turns to sell portions thereof to their cronies, private individuals, estate developers like ACCORD ENGINEERING LIMITED (ALSO KNOWN AS ELIZABETH ESTATE) and corporations using the privilege of their government offices.
“These families who felt utterly betrayed by such grand acts of fraud decided to act in their best interest by moving on their lands and began to possess them again. The crisis reached a boiling point recently when some directors from the Osun State Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning, Mr Falope, ESV. Omisore Olusegun J. and ARC. Emmanuel Oladejo spear-headed and illegally facilitated the sale of a whopping 36 Acres of land in the said location for the sum of N1 billion.
“That this illegal act was carried out with such impunity and administrative recklessness to the extent of boldly removing existing government pillars on these lands and replacing them with newer ones at different locations in order to further suit their purpose as they so desire.
“That on Wednesday, the 22nd of January, 2025, these directors in company of some officers of the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps and Nigeria Police, who were fully armed to the teeth invaded the land to forcefully and violently chase out farmers and occupiers of the land away to further pave the way for their illegal actions.
“That these families, especially those from Osogbo whose land fall within the area have been left in utter confusion and bewilderment as to whether the same government meant to protect and secure the interests and rights of the populace has now turned to be the worst enemy to their progress and survival as many of them derive their source of livelihood on that land.
“That the families in Ede whose lands were acquired have now repossessed their lands and only few families in Osogbo whose lands were allegedly acquired and no compensation paid to them are now being attacked on their lands by the above mentioned suspects and their cohorts.
“lt is therefore expedient to formally inform your noble office of the despicable acts of these suspects on the lands which if not tamed and adequately addressed may in the long run lead to communal clash between the two communities that have their lands at Agric Farm Settlement, Oke-Osun, Osogbo ie Ede and Osogbo.
“Sir, what was witnessed on that day has put into motion the detonation of a time bomb capable of shaking the state to its very foundations. It is our hope therefore that this matter will be looked into, investigated and addressed as a matter of utmost urgency,” the petition to Adeleke read.
When contacted on the telephone on Sunday, the Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, did not pick his call.
