Imposition of Baale, land grabbers trouble Ibeju Lekki

       Residents petition Lagos Assembly

Trouble is brewing in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos state, following the allegations of land grabbing and imposition of a Baale (local chief) on a community levelled against the Onibeju of Ibeju Lekki, Oba Olusegun Salami.

This has led members of the community to stage a peaceful protest to the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Crying out to the Lagos state government, the residents displayed placards bearing messages like “Oba Salami, the Onibeju of Ibeju uses soldiers and Ajagungbale to illegally occupy our land, please, help”, “Baale’s installation at midnight by Onibeju, Oba Salami confirms the illegality of all his actions. Governor Ambode, please help,” and “Oba Salami has become the lion grabbing all our family land. Government of Lagos State, please take note.”

In an interview with The Daily Times, Prince Alade Ogunlana, who led the protesters to the Lagos State House of Assembly traced the genesis of the problem, alleging that some few years back, one Mufutau Olamiji, went about Oke-ogun Odofin, and Oke-ogun School communities in the area, proclaiming and laying claim to the title of Baale of an alleged Okeogun-Ladeseso Community.

“We gathered that the Onibeju of Ibeju-Lekki, Oba Olusegun Salami had submitted his name before the Governor of Lagos State and other relevant Chieftaincy bodies in Lagos State for approval and absorption as the Baale of the alleged Okeogun-Ladeseso Community,” he said.

Prince Ogunlana stated categorically that Aladeseso Descendant Families are one of the ruling houses in Ibeju-Lekki in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, and that they are the direct children of Aladeseso, the first settler and founder of a place called Magbon Alade and that the said Mufutau Olamiji is never a descendant of their ancestors and that there is no area called Oke-Ogun Aladeseso which is just a concoction of the imagination of the Onibeju.

‘’There is no such place in the entire Ibeju-Lekki Kingdom called Oke-ogun Ladeseso; the said area is an ordinary land with no buildings, it is an empty land and it would be a direct affront on the family for someone to impersonate and use our family name to commit fraud.”

The Prince further stated that “the actions have unnecessarily infuriated the entire Aladeseso Descendant Families of the Aladeseso Ruling House of Ibeju-Lekki and made us bitter and enraged about the impersonation of our Family herein; and to make matters worse, Mufutau Olamiji has repeatedly threatened to deal with us should we further oppose him.”

Speaking further, Ogunlana alleged that Land grabbers, allegedly acting out the order of the Onibeju has since taken over the entire area on the order of the traditional ruler.

‘’The Onibeju brought in Ajabungbale; (land grabbers), armed men and street urchins to chase people out of their homes,’’ he alleged.

Addressing the protesters, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa promised that the matter would be investigated and that the House Committee on Public Petitions would handle the matter.

He advised the protesters to continue to be peaceful, adding that the state Governor has just inaugurated a committee on land grabbing matters and that very soon, the issues of land grabbing will be history in the state.