Moshood Adebayo
Scores of community leaders and residents of Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos State, have protested the Supreme Court judgment, which affirmed ownership of 398 acres of landed property in the community to the Akinole-Oshiun family.
The possession order, which covers a large section of the Lateef Jakande Road, Acme Road, Fagba Close and other streets in the area, affected over 2000 buildings.
The protesters, who marched from Agidingbi to House of Assembly complex in Alausa, said Akinole-Oshiun family, which won the case, had already given them seven days ultimatum to vacate their houses.
While urging the government to intervene in order to avert bloodshed, they insisted that they are rightful owners of the land.
The affected landlords stormed the entrance of the Assembly, displaying placards with various inscriptions. Some of them read: “There is no ancestral link between Akinole and Agidingbi land, and Land grabbers are enemies of Lagos State.”
Leader of Ojodu Local Council Development Authority, Wasiu Bolaji-Seidu, who was among the protesters, said the news of the possession order came to the community as a big surprise.
“No one from the area was served with the court process that led to the judgment, but last Friday, they (judgment-creditor) brought a judgment and placed it on our houses and said they have taken over the entire Agidingbi land.
“The issue is Agidingbi was not mentioned in the judgment; nobody from Agidingbi was part of the case. I don’t know how you will enforce a judgment against a person that was never part of the case.
“Agidingbi has been in existence for over 200 years ago. I was born and bred in Agidingbi; my forefathers were born and bred in Agidingbi. I don’t see any reason why somebody will just wake up and say they are the owners of the community.
“I don’t know where Akinole is coming from and we have people like Habibatu Mogaji who was the Yeye-Oba of Agidingbi. We have Femi Okunnu, who is our father in the community. We don’t know where Akin-ole came from.”
He urged the government to enforce the provisions of the existing Anti-Land Grabbing Law in the state and prevent the matter from degenerating into serious crisis, which may also lead to blood shed.
“To the best of my knowledge, I know that Lagos State has enacted a law duly signed by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, prohibiting land grabbing in the state because this is a clear example of such case.