By Christopher Oji
The Odunfoworan family in Ogun State has petitioned Governor Dapo Abiodun over what they described as threat to life and continuous harassment with the military and policemen by the University of Lagos campus of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced of Legal Studies Thrift and Credit Society.
The family, who admitted to have sold part of their family land in Molekere village in the Ogijo area of the state, also accused the school management of continuously detaining a member of the family, Olalekan Odunfoworan.
In the petition to the state governor, the family passionately appealed to him to urgently intervene and ensure that justice is ensured and put an end to the incessant prosecution of the family by the school.
Counsel to the family, Nicholas Okafor, in a letter to the governor, said that a member of the family was, in September 2021, arrested by policemen from Zone 2 Command, Onikan, Lagos, on the order of the school, and was charged to court in Suit No MSH/210C/2021 on a five-count charge.
“However, he was discharged and acquitted of all the five counts against him after being found not guilty by the court,” the family added.
The family also claimed that despite being acquitted by a court of lawful jurisdiction, their members had been arrested by the Police Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), as well as being harassed by military men.
“Not satisfied with the final verdict of the court, the same society used the influence of its members to write a series of frivolous petitions against our clients to the police Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT).
The family added that, “based on those petitions, our clients were, again, arrested, despite the fact that the petitions were based wholly on the same subject matter for which the court had discharged and acquitted our clients in charge of MSH/210C/2021.
“Yet, he was detained, beaten, tortured, extorted and humiliated by the said squad, which is tantamount to the breach of his fundamental human rights and amounting to double jeopardy.”
The Odunfoworan family also said that “he (Olalekan Odunfoworan) was also threatened to be charged to court and forced to write undertaking by SWAT that he would not go to the land, which is the subject matter of agitation.
The family said: “It is on record that the said Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Thrift and Credit Society (UNILAG Campus) had encroached on portions of our client’s family land far and beyond the boundaries, lawfully sold to them by the family, and the family protested against such illegal acts.
The family also stated that Olalekan was, again, arrested and detained for three months by officials of the ICPC over another petition by the same society.
They, therefore, called on the governor to order a prompt investigation into the travails of the family as they now live in perpetual fear of being arrested and detained again.