The residents of the community, SaharaReporters learnt, are mostly businessmen, artisans and civil servants living as landlords and occupants of the estate.
Residents of Arijodi Ologunmolaare community, a residential estate in the Akure North local government area of Ondo State have protested against the sealing off of their buildings by armed security officials, following a purported court order.
The residents of the community, SaharaReporters learnt, are mostly businessmen, artisans and civil servants living as landlords and occupants of the estate.
SaharaReporters gathered on Monday that court bailiffs used the men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to carry out the enforcement on the buildings.
Several residential buildings in the estate community were marked red with the "court order" while the residents alleged that the action was carried out when they had left their various houses.
Justice Aderemi Adegoroye had ruled that the Iyalobirin of the Community, Cecilia Taye Ologede, and a clergy, Pastor Akintade Oni, lacked the powers to solely transfer any interest on the Arijodi/Ologunmolaare disputed family land without the knowledge of the entire family.
While delivering judgment on the matter, the trial judge held that the two of the defendants; Ologede and Oni were family head and Secretary respectively but lacked the power to exercise such power without the knowledge of the family.
However, the court ordered the residents to revalidate the ownership of the land and that the defendants should not take any action without the consent of the entire family Arijodi/Ologunmolaare.
But in defiance to the court ruling, the claimants led officials of the court and Civil Defence to seal off the houses of the lanlords alleging the enforcement of the order of the court.
The development led to a protest in the landlords of the community.
Protesting the action, one of the affected landlords, Alfred Olumide Adebayo said he was at his place of work when he was called that his house was being locked up.
He said his family has been locked out of the building by the armed officers claiming to be carrying out a court order and there is nowhere to sleep.
Adebayo said, “I was away when my security man called me that my gate was locked by some people through the court injunction which I did not know anything about. I speak at the moment my people are still inside locked up.
“I am now appealing to the state government, the general public to help me because I am not a party to this, I bought my land genuinely, I don't know anything about this at all and it is time call them to order.”
Another landlord, Fred Ojo, whose building was also marked by the court order, condemned the action of the officers for sealing up his property.
He added that his children were locked up inside the apartment while describing the act as injustice.
He said, “I was out of the house already when they called me that my gate has been locked up by the men of the Civil Defence Corps for court order and that they are only doing their job.
"They have marked our houses, when they came, they sent my security man out and locked my children inside; nobody can come in and come out.
"I am appealing to whosoever that came to do this act to come and open my house, this is my property even if there is a court order we will know how to settle the matter and nobody told me to leave the land. I think this is injustice."