Ogun state chairman of the human rights group, Comrade Yemi Enitan, told our correspondent that the state government had illegally dispossessed the villagers of the 160,000 acres of land which they have been using for farming
A nongovernmental organization, Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to call Ogun governor, Mr Ibikunle Amosun, to order over alleged grabbing of over 160,000 acres of farmland from residents of Igbin Ojo village in Ewekoro local government area of the state.
Ogun state chairman of the human rights group, Comrade Yemi Enitan, told our correspondent that the state government had illegally dispossessed the villagers of the 160,000 acres of land which they have been using for farming.
Some of the villagers who also spoke to our reporter claimed the Governor is planning to give the land to his friends and political allies at the end of his tenure.
Enitan claimed that one Dele Soluade, a former chairman of Ewekoro Local Government Ewekoro who is now an aide to the governor has been acting as Amosu’s henchman in the illegal land acquisition.
He said this is in spite of the fact that the Ogun Bureau of Lands had disclosed that the said land is not listed for acquisition by the state government in response to the letter of inquiry by the NGO.
It was gathered Soluade has been visiting Ewekoro with soldiers and mobile police officers and had on several occasions, brutalized the villagers while threatening to arrest anyone against the land acquisition.
Enitan, also said the Permanent Secretary to the Commissioner for Agriculture had maintained that the land under dispute is not part of government’s acquisition, therefore the owners need not panic.
“The attitude of the state government is a clear indication that the present All Progressives Congress (APC) led by the administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun (FCA) is not people’s friendly due to its regular displacement of Ogun residents and unlawful acquisition of land under the disguise of government’s acquisition.”
Members of Igbin Ojo community are demanding compensation from the Ogun government for the brutalization and threats to their lives by the governor’s aide.
Already, the suit they instituted to stop the illegal acquisition of their land is at Ota High Court and is listed for mention on 16, April 2018.
But they complained that in spite of the ongoing litigation, the government has gone ahead to mount a signpost on the parcels of land.
CLO, therefore, asked President Buhari to intervene in the matter by stopping Governor Amosun and his political associates from continuing with illegal acquisition of land in the state.