Some youths in a Lagos State community under the Ojomu Youth Forum and Concerned Indigenes of Ajiran Land have dismissed media reports that they were behind land grabbing activities in the area, while alleging that their traditional ruler, “Oba Akinloye and Alhaji Yekini Bakare” were the real culprits.
Earlier, a civil society under the platform of Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) had in a press conference called on the government to intervene and end harassment of authentic allottees and rightful owners of lands in Ojomu community.
The President of the group, Comrade Alex Omotehinse, had told journalists that his group was deeply concerned by the continuous threats to public peace as a consequence of the unlawful activities of land grabbers in Ojomu Community otherwise referred to Ajiran Land in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.
He said the intervention of civil society stakeholders had become imperative to put an end to reckless abuse of human rights, malicious disobedience of constituted authorities as well as brazen disregard for the laws of Lagos State as enforceable in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The group had demanded that the Lagos State Government urgently investigate human rights abuses being perpetrated by land grabbers in the community including intimidation and ostracising of certain sons of Ojomu community by Mr. Ahmed Tajudeen.
But in a rejoinder issued on Thursday by the Secretary of Ojomu Youth Forum and Concerned Indigenes of Ajiran Land, Wasiu Yekini, described the report as attempt to reinvent the wheels of truth and turn the hunter into the hunted.
Titled: "RE: End Harassment Of Authentic Allottees Of Land In Ojomu Community, Group Tells Sanwo-Olu, Police," the Ojomu Youth said the authors are hiding under the banner of a nebulous Civil Society organization in an attempt to turn legitimate demands by genuinely aggrieved community leaders and youths into something despicable.
Chronicling the events that led to the crisis, Ojomu Youth Secretary, Yekini said "In reality, the media and press statement only succeeded in achieving the exact opposite of what it set out to achieve.
"Some basic facts need restating. The land in question belongs to the indigenous people of Ajiran. It is a communal Land (Ojomu Chieftaincy Family Land) held and administered in trust for the whole family. As has been the practice from the days of our forebears, the community has lawyers appointed to handle all land matters, in a fair and transparent manner, for the benefit of the Ajiran/Ijomu Community.
"Contrary to what they would have you to believe, the youths, led by Ojomu Youth Forum President, Tajudeen Ahmed, have been at the forefront of maintaining the peace and tranquility of our community.
"The underhand tactics of Oba Akinloye and Alhaji Bakare have set the duo against the community. The recent press briefings and media war are simply the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau. The Oba and his cohort have simply recruited mercenaries to blackmail the Youths Forum for daring to challenge their fraudulent activities.
"At the height of the brewing crisis in Ajiran/Ojomu Land is Oba Akinloye’s insistent on appropriating the entire Ojomu Chieftaincy land for himself and his cronies. We will cite few instances to showcase this level of greed and desperation.
"There were initially five signatories to all land Deeds of the Ojomu Family. Upon the demise of three of them and their subsequent replacement by their families, the duo of Oba Akinloye and Alhaji Bakare have insisted on being the only two individuals to execute documents on behalf of the family. The sale of the family land is conducted in an opaque manner such that a significant portion of our patrimony has been sold by the greedy duo without any account made to the family."
He added, "Despite the Billions of Naira made from sale of family land, there is no development in Ajiran Land. Every benefit that is supposed to accrue to the Community is cornered by Oba Akinloye and Alhaji Bakare, either for themselves or their biological children. Mr Jide Akinloye the son of Oba Akinloye represented Eti Osa Federal Constituency for eight (8) years and there is practically no developmental project that can be traced to him.
"In several letters written to the Governor and other governmental agencies the Community has consistently frowned at the subterranean attempt by the traditional ruler and his ally to change legal representatives for the purpose of all Deeds of Assignment of portions of land forming part of our communal Land (Ojomu Chieftaincy Family Land).
"Instructively, the two lawyers recommended by the traditional Ruler were members of his immediate family and that of his ally, Alhaji Yekeni Bakare. The Kabiyesi has attempted to change the lawyers appointed by the Family to his son, Mr. Jide Akinloye of Akinloye and Associates and Mrs Lateefat Haleem-Bakare of Rosewood Legal, the daughter in law of his ally, Alh. Yekini Bakare.
"The community has made it clear to the Oba that act of unilaterally removing the family lawyer and replacing them with his son and the daughter-inlaw of his co-conspirator, Alhaji Bakare is ‘unfair, immoral and illegal’.
"Sensing it as a plot to deny them of their common patrimony, the community threatened to approach the court if the decision was not reversed.
"There are sacred facts to show that the traditional ruler has an incurable propensity at expropriating the family land for his selfish interests and only gas-lighting the public to deflect attention away from his shameful conduct. His real intention is to convert communal land to personal property.
"The Kabiyesi has in fact made several allegations against indigenes of the Ajiran Community and the Ojomu Family to the Police. At each of the times he and his ally chickened out when it was time to present evidence in support of their allegations. In the face of the above hard and irrefutable facts, it is vacuous for any paid agent to adorn the traditional ruler in roses and question the community’s right to defend their common patrimony and heritage.
"The Youth Forum led by Tajudeen Ahmed has the mandate of the community to raise questions regarding the greed and blatant stealing of collective patrimony that the Oba and his ally have engaged in. The wicked runs when no one pursues him. There really is no need for anyone to engage in preemptive and offensive propaganda if there was no skeleton to hide.
"We are compelled at this juncture to advise the Oba to act his role as the custodian of our culture and value and leave land speculation to those suited for it. It is the sick that needs a physician.
"It is Oba Akinloye and Alhaji Yekini Bakare that are the land grabbers not Tajudeen Ahmed, not members of the Ojomu Youth Forum and not the teeming members of the Ojomu Family whose patrimony the greedy duo of Oba Akinloye and Alhaji Yekini Bakare have attempted to transfer to their own biological children," the rejoinder partly read.