Members of the Sun Cooperative Society Estate at Arobieye community in Ado Odo Ota Local Government of Ogun State have implored Ogun State Government to call a community leader to order over the encroachment of their land.
They called on the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, to prevail on the Baale of Arobieye community, Nurudeen Dada, to stop re-selling their land.
The journalists said they purchased three acres of land (18 plots) at Arobieye community about 13 years ago from the then head of Akanni family, the late Chief Jacob Akanni.
They said after the death of Akanni, some family members under the leadership of Alhaji Nurudeen Dada, the current head of Akanni family, who is also the Baale of Arobieye, began to resell the land at N2 million per plot to new buyers.
It was gathered that when the Baale was confronted by the journalists, he demanded the receipt of purchase of the land, but made no effort to stop the encroachment on the property.
“So, while things are being sorted out between the Baale and the journalists, the new buyers erect structures on the land.”
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It was learnt that the property became noticeable after a major road linking Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) International Headquarters (Canaan land) with Agbara-Sango Ota road was built by the church beside the parcel of land.
The new road not only made the parcel of land visible to commuters, it also made the value of the land to rise, a situation that made the land grabbers led by Dada to take over the land and began to resell it.
Lamenting their ordeal, the journalists said the Baale simply wanted to use the increase in the value of the property as a result of the new road that passed by it to dispossess them of their land.
One of the owners, who has almost completed his building, Ibukun Oyelami, said he bought the blocks he used in erecting his building from the same Baale, who is now contesting ownership with the rightful owner.
“He earlier denied, but when I called him with the phone number he gave me then and it rang when we visited him, he acknowledged that he sold the blocks to me. He sold the blocks and the family head collected the money for the foundation. When they were collecting the money then, it was authentic, what now happens? This is wickedness,” he said.
The journalists condemned the exploitative action of the Baale in re-selling the land without any consultation with them, the first buyers, who have genuine documents of Survey and Deed of Assignments from Ogun State Government and an institutionalised law firm.
They said they have every document that confirms they are the legitimate owners of the land, including survey of the land and Deed of Assignment.
The journalists, calling for the state government’s intervention, lamented that despite that some of them have physical presence of possession of their land such as building, corner piece and farms, the grabbers still went ahead to sell the land.
They, therefore, called on the Olota of Ota and Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to prevail on the Baale to stop re-selling their land or any form of encroachment, henceforth.