BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
There has been a lingering land crisis between Ogunajo town, Paku town, Ejemu, Eleye, Oloya and Ojisun villages of Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State and neighbouring Offa-Igbo Village in Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State, according to findings by The Point.
Unless the leaders of the two state governments and security agencies intervene on time and broker peace, a violent clash may break out between the villages at the boundary of the two states.
Already, some of the villagers revealed that some health facilities and houses had been allegedly destroyed by some hoodlums from Offa-Igbo.
They also claimed that their farm produce were being stolen by the thugs.
It was gathered that the disputed land measures 3000 hectares, stretching from Oyi River (Oyo) to Oba River (Osun).
According to findings, when Osun State was carved out of Oyo in August 1991, Ofa-Igbo was designated as the border line between Iwoland and Ibadanland.
But crisis began when Ofa-Igbo reportedly began to lay claim to ownership of the land hosting Ogunajo town, Paku town, Ejemu, Eleye, Oloya and Ojisun villages of Osun State.
According to some of the villagers, the traditional ruler of Ofa-Igbo, Oba Adeboye Salako Sinade, and his son, Akeem Adeboye, have allegedly been terrorising the six communities for years.
The heads of the villages also accused Oba Sinade of using fake policemen and thugs to attack them on the land.
In an affidavit, the heads of the villages warned that the crisis might snowball into a full communal clash if Oba Sinade was not cautioned on time, maintaining that they could not just stand akimbo and watch their people being killed and maimed.
The affidavit was deposed to by the Baale of Ogunajo, Musiliu Kehinde Ogunajo.
The duo of Oba Adeboye and his son were accused of unleashing terror in collusion with fake policemen and thugs on the aforementioned villages by fraudulently selling their lands and destroying properties, including those owned by government.
Both Oba Adeboye and his son, it was learnt, would sometimes allegedly bring policemen from Oyo Police Command, Ibadan to arrest family members in the six communities without any offence.
In the affidavit, the community head said, “Akeem Adeboye on the instruction of his father, Oba Adeboye has been victimising and terrorising all our villages. They were armed with guns, cutlasses, axes, etc with the support of many thugs and fake policemen to vandalise our villages, claiming the ownership of the land by force.
“Both Oba Adeboye and his son with their thugs have carted away many kegs of palm oil, destroying Osun State health facilities in many villages and they would be shouting that they had sold off the land to buyers and we claimants should vacate the land by force.
“They would sometimes bring policemen from Ibadan to arrest our family members on their farmland and we would be taken to Ibadan, Oyo State Police Command for an unknown offence.”
Findings revealed that the heads of the six communities have made several complaints against Oba Adeboye and his son at the Nigeria Police Force, Zone XI, Osogbo.
It was gathered that the traditional ruler and his son had not for once honoured the police invitation.
The community leaders claimed that they had never had any litigation with Offa-Igbo on the ownership of their land until 2001 when they were challenged by the then Oloffa of Offa-Igbo, High Chief C.D Adeyemo Otun.
They explained that Otun later withdrew the suit when he discovered that he was wrong, adding that they hadbeen occupying the land peacefully and never paid any royalty to anybody in Oyo State.
Speaking on the incident, the Senior Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Chamber and Commerce, Wasiu Ogundokun, called for the intervention of the state government on the crisis.
Ogundokun, who spoke at a Trade Fair organised in Osogbo, urged the state government to swiftly respond to the matter to avert bloodshed.
He said, “There are a lot of crises in Iwo, which only require the intervention of the state government. Recently, people of Lagelu were arresting our fathers and detaining them in the police station. I was part of those appointed by the local chiefs to monitor happenings around Odo-Oba. They are arresting our people and taking them to Ibadan. They (Oyo people) are claiming they owned the land. But we don’t want any bloodshed.
“We don’t want any crisis for Governor Adeleke. We should also be patient at this time the governor wants to embark on developmental projects in Iwo.
“Who are the people of Lagelu that want to disturb the peace of Iwo? Do they want to turn us to tenants on our own land? This looming crisis can only be averted by the state government. In 2008, Lagelu people entered Odo-Oba and begin to number all our fathers’ houses. We want the urgent intervention of the governor.”
