Notorious Land Grabber, Sir K-Oluwo, Sacks Community Over Ancestral Land

FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

The members of Itapara Community, a sleepy village in Sagamu Local Government area of Ogun State, has cried out to the Ogun State Government over a siege laid on their village by some land grabbers purportedly led by one Kamorudeen Lamina popularly known as Sir K-Oluwo.

In a petition by the solicitor to the Afariogun family, (the owners of the vast land in the community), Mrs. Peju Omotayo of Bandele Omotayo & Co, dated September 4, 2018 to the Chairman, Ogun State Special Task Force on Anti-Land Grabbing, the family called on the state government to save them from the alleged terror unleashed by the accused and his men for some years now.

The Afariogun family, through their Solicitor, averred that the Lamina and his men have consistently disrupted the peace of the community and denied the family from reaping the fruits of the March 5, 2014 judgment delivered in their favour by Justice E.O.Osinuga of the Ogun State High Court, in Sagamu, Ogun State in suit no 1TCS/136/2005.

Narrating the Genesis of the siege, the Solicitor in the petition stated; “Our Client’s ownership has been confirmed by the Judgement of Court in Suit no. HCS/136/2005: Between Chief Rasaki Animasaun & 5 others Vs. Mukaila Oke German & 5 others on the 5th March 2014…In October 2014, seven months into the judgment, Kamoru Lamina (alias Sir K. Oluwo) allegedly sent one Dauda Asikolaye OPC Coordinator in Ikorodu to inform our client that the Judgment debtor led by Sunday Oshikoya had commissioned him (Lamina) to send our client out of Itapara farmland and village, and as such demanded that our client assign to him 20 acres of land failure of which he shall take up the job and chase out and dispossess our client,” part of the petition reads.

With that threat, Omotayo stated that the elders of the community contacted her and she later spoke to Lamina, through his emissary to the family, Asikolaye, using his telephone line and advised him (Lamina) against such act.  The lawyer equally said to have invited some elders in the society including Chief Biliaminu Farounbi (Baba Alado) to wade in and impress it on Lamina going against the Judgement of the Court.

Rather than heed the warning, Lamina was alleged to have dared the lawyer to bring even the Judge to the controversial land and see if he will not kill and bury her on the land.

However, true to his threat, Lamina, on June 4, 2015 allegedly led some of his men including Towoju Ayodele, Samson Adebambo, Mufu Aleshinloye, Ibrahim (Alias Aspen), Ganiu Salu, Waliu Salu Aleshila, Hakeem brother to Baale Poro, Lukman Gboje, Sunday Oshinkoya (Alias Olotu) Mosudi Saliu, Karimu Saliu, Mukaila Oke German and Akeem Alabi Alias Soro alongside some others who claimed to be members of Oodua People Congress, OPC to the community and its farmland.

They allegedly destroyed farm crops, assaulted everyone on sight including women and children, broke into their homes, looted their properties and later broke into the Palace of the Baale, Chief Aremu Ogbara Afariogun and at gun point allegedly robbed him of the sum of N2.5million and carted away his Corals beads and other valuables.

The matter, according to the petition, was reported to the Police at Ogijo, Ogun State whereupon, the DPO Toyin Afolaogun detailed five armed Policemen to go on facts finding mission and to investigate the complaint lodged at the Police Station.

It was gathered that on getting to Itapara Village, Lamina and his men allegedly challenged the Policemen and forcefully “pulled out Chief Shakiru Arepo Afariogun, Mr. Jamiu Obafemi Afariogun and Azeez Animasaun from the Police patrol vehicle and in spite of the physical presence of the Policemen, matcheted and assaulted Our Client.”

In the petition, it was also alleged that Lamina and his men also threatened to burn the Policemen alongside their vehicle. “Despite the fact that this crime was committed in the presence of these five Policemen no arrest was made rather our client was told to do the arrest and bring Kamoru Lamina and the others claiming they were not ready to die as they claimed Kamoru Lamina is deadly,” the petitioner stated.

In the light of those series of assault, the family, through their lawyer, petitioned the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 2, who assigned the case to the X Squad Department to investigate. The Squad was also mandated to investigate Omotayo’s complaint that there were attempts on her life by Lamina and his men.

In spite of this, the attack and ambushing of the Afariogun family members and invasion of their land remains unabated. On July 2, 2018, the family then petitioned the Chairman of Ogun State Special Task Force on Anti-Land Grabbing whereof Lamina and his men were invited. On August 31, Lamina and all the other parties were advised to keep the peace pending proper investigation by the Task Force.

However, the following day, (September 1) while the Afariogun Family and other members of the family were in the village to appease and make sacrifices to their deities (Ogun Festival), some policemen were said to have invaded the village alongside some armed men on about 50 motorcycles shot into the air, demanded to know what they were doing in the village.

“Old men and women, and children were arrested and taken to Ogijo Police Station all on a trump up allegation that they heard our Clients were cultists and that they came to Itapara to foment trouble. The women and elders were later released while they detained nine of their children,” Omotayo stated in the petititon.

She continued, “Our Clients were not allowed to make statement and those injured were refused to be given papers to go to the hospital. Their money and phones were ceased with memory cards which contained evidence of the assault were removed and destroyed by policemen.”

The family solicitor noted that the last attack has forced the Afariogun family members to flee their ancestral home while the few who have decided to stay back in the village have been attacked unabatedly.

She noted that on several occasions, the Baale of the community, had been waylaid, beaten to a pulp and stripped naked with impunity and each time the incident always been reported at Ogijo Police Division.

The petitioner pleaded with the government to save members of the family and the entire Itapara community who had been in perpetual fear after been chased out of their village totally and barred from reaping the benefits of the judgment of the high court confirming them (Afariogun family) as the land owner.

“We humbly seek your intervention to use your good offices and trusted ability to investigate this matter in the interest of justice. Our clients who have pursued their case diligently for decades through the law should not be unjustly punished all in a bit to suppress justice and for evil to prevail,” Omotayo summed.