One of the claimants to the Baba Ode land near Ilogbo town in Ogun State – the royal family of Itusi – has alleged that its members were shot at the weekend by a suspected land grabber during a recent visit to the property.
It said the suspect was trying to prevent the family and a team of police investigators from Abuja from gaining entrance into the land.
A police source claimed that the said suspect, who was in the company of his gang, opened fire as soon as he sighted the operatives, wounding several members of the family and damaging the police’s vehicle.
The source claimed further that the shooter was subsequently overpowered and a locally-made double-barrel gun, several rounds of live cartridges, and charms were recovered from him.
The head of the Itusi royal family, Chief Taofeek Oduasanyin, explained that the police team was sent from Abuja in response to a petition he wrote to the State Investigation Bureau, (SIB), Abuja.
He said this was after armed land grabbers from a family at Ota, came to dislodge him and the entire family from the land.
Oduasanyin alleged that “The Adelupo family, led by Alau Nurudeen, carried out this dastardly act, out of bitterness and deep frustration suffered from losing four court cases over the land, both at the magistrate and high court levels, including the outcomes of all police mediation parleys held at different times in Lagos and Abuja.”
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But Alhaji Nurudeen Alau denied being involved in landgrabbing, adding that he did not know the suspect that shot at the Itusi family and the police.
He said, “I do not know him, neither do I arm anybody, you can ask for his identification card if he has any identifying him with me. All my workers have our company identification card.”
“The truth is that we were born in Ipetu Baba Ode village, near Ilogbo, and never had any issues on that land until 2010 when they came to lay claim on Itusi land which is adjoining ours. We contested it, but the court graciously granted their request, by giving them ownership of that land.
“To our chagrin, they came again in 2013, to lay claim to our part of the land which is Ipetu Baba Ode, via Iju town which is about seven kilometres apart. The case lasted four years into 2017, before we got judgment, giving us ownership of Ipetu Baba Ode, which is near Iju.
“From the testimony and explanation of Surveyor-General during court hearings, a boundary has already been provided demarcating the land between Itusi which belongs to them and Baba Ode lands belonging to us.
“But the problem snowballed some weeks ago, when they forcefully dislodged us from the land, despite a resolution meeting scheduled for April 16, in Area 10 Police Area headquarter, Abuja.”
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