Residents of about 20 communities in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State on Friday protested the alleged invasion of their communities and the forceful seizure of their farmlands by armed personnel.

The affected communities include Odo Igbein, Tapala, Igbo Oya, Laloko, Oruntu, Eriki Awoke, Eriki Nla, Jelenke, Kiregun, among others.

The protesters accused one Lukman Akinlade of masterminding the alleged takeover of several hectares of their ancestral farmlands.

According to the residents, they have lived in fear for over two months, alleging that the heavy presence of armed men on their farmlands has prevented them from freely accessing their farms and nearby rivers.

They therefore called on Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; the Commissioner for Justice, Mr Sina Ogungbade (SAN); the Ogun State House of Assembly; and the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, to intervene and save them from being ejected from their ancestral lands.

During the peaceful protest, residents displayed placards bearing inscriptions such as “Gov Abiodun, save us from land grabbers,” and “We don’t want land grabbers on our ancestral land.

Speaking with journalists, the Baale of Odo Igbein, Chief Mukaila Sodunke, lamented that the alleged forceful takeover of their farmlands had brought untold hardship to the communities.

“We can no longer go to our farms or even to the river because of the armed personnel brought to our communities.

“We are agrarian farmers, and these farmlands are our only source of livelihood. How can someone just come from nowhere, invade our land and take over what our forefathers left for us?

“We are begging Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Commissioner of Police to help us. We should not be treated like slaves on our own land. We pray that the government will please come to our aid”, Sodunke said.

Also speaking, the Baale of Jelenke village, Chief Muraina Odelade, expressed anger and frustration over what he described as the invasion of their communities by armed personnel.

“These people came from nowhere and started working on our farmlands with armed personnel. They keep harassing us, threatening to arrest us and take us to Abuja.

“We can no longer go to our farms, and our people are hungry. We are begging the governor and the Commissioner of Police to help us. They claim the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, gave them the order, but we know that is not true.

“They come with vehicles without registration numbers and block roads to intimidate us. Sometimes, they come with as many as 12 armed policemen. This is making life unbearable for us”, Odelade said.

Another resident, Mr Folorunso Temitope, also appealed to the state government to intervene.

“We just saw these people recently. They came with police officers without any form of identification and invaded our village,” Temitope said.

“We could not challenge them because they were armed. They are clearing our land with about 50 workers daily.

“We beg Governor Abiodun not to allow these people to cheat us. We are farmers, and this is a strange and painful experience for us,” he added.

However, when contacted, Akinlade dismissed the allegations, insisting that he legally acquired about 100 hectares of land within the communities from the state government for agricultural purposes.

“The truth is that I am not involved in any illegality in that area. I applied for 100 hectares of farmland for agricultural purposes, which I paid for. Government land officials took me to the site, and at a point, I even met with the Baale of Odo Igbein and others.

“There was a time they called the police, and I showed the officers the documents issued by the government. The government has also promised to compensate those affected.

“The state officials informed them that anyone whose land falls within the acquired area should come forward for enumeration and compensation,” he added.

Efforts to obtain the reaction of the state government proved abortive, as the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to Abiodun, Mr Kayode Akinmade, had yet to respond to enquiries as of the time of filing this report. (The PUNCH)

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