Lagos State Task Force Labels Oba Kazeem Salami As ‘Land Grabber’ In Official Response To Petition

P.M.EXPRESS reports as was contained in an official letter on Oba  Kazeem Salami to the Lagos State Police Command by the Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbing over allegations of illegal occupation of land along the Lagos-Epe Expressway in Eti-Osa Local Government Area.

This medium gathered that it was the same parcel of land that Oba Salami was alleged to have mobilized armed men to attack the property consultant, Mr. Stanley Oripelaye and his security man, Afolabi Yisau a.k.a Ijoba, robbed him and inflicted injury on him.

The monarch was said to have denied the allegations but the Police operatives at the IGP Monitoring Unit at Kam-Salem House in Obalande, Lagos, is investigating the matter.

In a letter dated March 12, 2020, with reference LSSTF/LG/2019/3772, the Task Force informed the Commissioner of Police that it received a petition from Dr. Ken A. Uwaifo on behalf of Cosmopolitan Properties Ltd. The petition named Kazeem Salami and cohorts as respondents in a dispute over a property at Ajilwe/Alasia Village.

The Task Force said the petitioner’s title to the 4.872-hectare land was derived from a High Court of Lagos State auction sale ordered by Hon. Justice Ligali Ayorinde. It cited a Certificate of Purchase dated November 30, 1993, and a report from the Office of the Surveyor-General confirming the land fell within the portion sold by court order.

According to the letter, the Lagos State Government had acquired the land and paid compensation to customary owners. The Task Force stated that it was “evident that the Petitioner is the person entitled to the said land” and requested Police assistance to secure peaceful possession.

The document noted that the respondents had allegedly continued to prevent the petitioner from accessing the land, an action it said breached Section 4 of the Lagos State Properties Protection Law 2016. The Task Force invoked Section 12 of the same law to seek the arrest and prosecution of any miscreants or illegal encroachers.

In a follow-up response dated May 20, 2020, the Task Force reiterated its position. It stated that the Nigerian Police had previously investigated the matter and that a charge was preferred against Alhaji Kazeem Salami and others for allegedly occupying the land illegally and chasing away the lawful occupant’s servants, contrary to Section 4 of the 2016 Law.

The Task Force also referenced Suit No. LD/4383LMW/2017 between Alhaji Tajudeen Falana & Ors and the Governor of Lagos State & Ors, which is pending before the Lagos High Court. It said its review of the Statement of Defence in the case showed the petitioner had been in possession since the court-ordered sale.

Lawyers for Salami, Lawal Pedro SAN & Associates, responded in May 2020, arguing that the Task Force had pre-judged the matter and usurped the role of the court. They maintained that only the court could determine ownership and possession while the suit was pending.

The Task Force maintained that its mandate under the Lagos State Properties Protection Law 2016 is to prevent forceful entry and illegal occupation of land. It said the office acted on the directive of the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in seeking Police assistance for the petitioner.

The Lagos State Special Task Force on Land Grabbers operates under the Attorney General’s Office at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja. It can be contacted on 09096667123 and 09020085005. The matter remains subject to the ongoing court proceedings in Suit No. LD/4383LMW/2017.