Feru land dispute: Obasanjo’s name never used for transactions

Winners Chapel (World Mission Agency) has denied using Obasanjo’s name or his associate for any transactions or harassment of innocent citizens on its 166 acres of land that was properly acquired from land owners at Feru community of Iyana-Iyesi area of Ota in the Ado-Odo/Ota local government area of Ogun State.
This is contained in a statement jointly signed by the families who sold the land, Chief Augustine Omilelewe (Ikibawo) and Chief Rasheed Oyewole Dada (Feru); the consultant who facilitated the purchase, Alhaji Nurudeen Adeoye and World Mission Agency, lawyer, Pastor Felix Agbanwu, after a meeting in Ota following alleged name dropping and land grabbing accusations level against Chief Abraham Akanle on the said land.
This land is said to have been acquired by World Mission Agency from two families of Ikibawo and Feru after duly ascertaining the rift between the two families were settled.
Necessary legal document of ownership were said to have been confirmed to be authentic and had since taken possession and fenced the parameters covering the acres with CofO – MC2/PET/11/005/1024905 and Deed of Assignment Made between the joint family of Ikibawo and Feru and World Mission Agency Incorporated since 2007.
The statement read: ““At no point was Chief Akanle involved in the transactions on the said land. And by extension Obasanjo’s name was never used for any legal or illegal land deal. So the onus lies on one of the Obasanjo’s counsels, Kabir Akanbi, to prove as stated in a national newspaper of February 26, 2021. All along, no one questioned the genuineness of all the transactions relating to the land, until last year when one Ibuoye with others were accused of forcefully breaking and destroying the gated land and started excavation.”
Though worried by the ugly development, Alhaji Adeoye said as law-abiding citizens: “We reported the case at Eleweran Police Station via petition by Barr. Agbanwu on behalf of World Mission Agency and the culprit was arrested and subsequently charged to Chief Magistrate Court, Ota for trespassing and malicious damage to Winners’ land and gated fence. It is rather unfortunate, even with the case still pending in court, Gbenga returned to the land for excavation with over 100 armed hoodlums, civil defence and soldiers, vandalizing cars and beating up everyone seen on the land.
“I’m not into land grabbing and can never be involved in thuggery or fraudulent activities. I do clean business. I have been facilitating transactions for Winners Chapel since 2007. The purchase was done after due consultations and confirmation of their documents, why do we then need Baba Obasanjo’s name here?” Adeoye queried.
Absolving the organisation further, Agbanwu said: “World Mission Agency is corporate body and big enough to handle any of its challenges without name dropping. We neither have transactions for or on behalf of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo nor instructed any Chief Abraham Akanle to do same on our behalf.
“It was when Gbenga Ibuoye broke the fence, trespassed and started excavation on the land that I, on behalf of World Mission Agency, wrote a petition to the Police and it was promptly treated.
“The land is ours. We have credible documents to back our claims. The current presence of policemen there is to maintain peace, law and order, he concluded.”
Corroborating the earlier speakers, Alhaji Dada who got two judgments against Joseph Oloyede Odunfa, confirming the ownership of the land before sales to World Mission Agency said the first judgment was with Suit No. OT/521/2001 Rasheed Oyewole Dada Vs Joseph Oloyede on May 8, 2001 at Customary Court, Ota.
“It was appealed at the High Court, Ota, in Suit No. HCT/22A/2001 Solomon Oloyede (who joined after the death of his father) Vs Rasheed Oyewole Dada in December 22, 2004 and judgement was declared in my favour by Justice A.A. Akinyemi, who said that the land has been sold to Winners. And we are behind the organization to take legal action against any encroachment. As a matter of fact:
“I have never met Chief Akanle. I don’t know him either. He never acquired or maintain land in Feru. How come Chief Obasanjo is accusing him of name dropping?”
Chief Omilelewe of Ikibawo also denied the involvement of Chief Akanle on land in Feru community. The transaction we had was strictly between us and Winners. And there are legitimate documents backing it up.