Lekki residents accuse monarch of land grabbing, seek Assembly’s intervention

Residents of Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos state on Tuesday stormed the state House of Assembly to protest what they called forceful take over of their land by their traditional ruler and a notorious landgrabbers operating in the community.

The protesters who acussed the traditional ruler of Ibeju-Lekki of conniving with the land grabbers to rip them of their lands were armed with placards with different inscriptions such as ‘Folami, Onibeju, you want to use us as slaves in our fatherland,’ ‘Folami, bring peace and development, not death and destruction to your father’s land,’’To defend our land and our people from Onibeju and Folami is a task that must be done.’

Others are ‘If we remain silent, we would be guilty of complicity. We want peace, nothing more than peace at Oke-Ogun. Governor Ambode take note.’

In a petition prepared written on behalf of the embattled residents by their solicitor, Mr K.K. Suleiman, of the K.S. Karatu & Co. legal chambers and titled: ‘Complaint against Mufutau Sefiu Olamiji as the purported Baale of ‘Okegun Ladeseso’ and subsequent attempts by the Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs to upgrade him to the status of a king,’ reads in part:

“We are solicitors to Chief Samsideen Ogunkoya (the Ajagunbiada of Ibeju Land) and the people of Okegun Odofin in the Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State and on their joint instructions we write this petition to your Excellency in other to forestall total breakdown of law and order in Ibeju, Lagos state.

“Chief Ismail Ogunkoya was duly nominated and appointed as the substantive Baale of Okegun Odofin in Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State the position he held with overwhelming support from our clients and with dignity till date.

“The Onibeju of Ibeju Land, Oba Rafiu Olusegun Salami, invaded the ancestral land using Mufutau Sefiu Olamiji as his front and signed different agreements with notorious gangs of land grabbers to forcefully takeover the land,” the petition further stated.

In an earlier petition written by members of the community and addressed to the Lagos State House of Assembly, they had described themselves as “the descendants and the accredited representatives of Aladeseso family of the Aladeseso Chieftaincy Ruling House of Ibeju-Lekki.”

According to the petition, the problem dates back to 2013, when the said Mufutau Olamiji allegedly went round the community to proclaim himself as the Baale of an Okegun-Ladeseso, a community they insisted does not exist.

“We therefore herewith, oppose, condemn and disregard his purported declaration and or appointment as a ruse and thus further condemned his parade, representation and publicity as the Basae of the Okegun-Ladeseso community,” they stated.

Addressing the State House correspondents, Alhaji Lateef Folami, who led the protesters, said they were in the Assembly in respect of Oke Ogun Odofin, and Ibeju Lekki.

He explained that Ibeju Lekki had been in existence for the past 535 years, and that they had18 obas, who had been on the throne and left.