Ogun Assembly orders prosecution of monarch over alleged land grabbing

The Ogun State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution calling on the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade SAN to prosecute the Olu of Obafemi, in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area, Oba Taofeek Kayode Owolabi in accordance with the provisions of the state Anti-Land Grabbing Law, 2016 and other extant laws.

The Assembly also directed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the State Council of Obas to immediately suspend the monarch for perpetrating acts capable of disrupting the peace of the residents of Agboro-Olatunde village and the people of the state at large.

The passage of the resolution, according to a statement from the Assembly, followed the presentation of the report of the House Committees on Justice, Ethics and Public Petitions on the petitions received received from Agboro Olatunde Community Development Association against the monarch.

The Vice- Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Tella Babatunde presented the report after which he moved the motion for its adoption, seconded by Hon Segun Kaka and adopted by the whole house.

The statement reads “Consequently, the Majority Leader, Yusuf Sheriff, later moved the motion converting the Committee’s recommendations into the House resolution, which was seconded by the Minority Leader Lukman Adeleye and supported by the whole House, through a unanimous voice vote.”

The report, according to the statement partly reads: “In view of the allegations raised by the petitioners and the failure of the respondent to honour the invitation of the House on the issues raised by the petitioners, the Committee embarked on the spot assessment of the land under contention and observed as follows.

“That there is a land dispute between the residents of Agboro-Olatunde Village and Oba Taofeek Kayode Owolabi (The Olu of Obafemi); the land under contention is located at Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

“The Monarch who was alleged of land grabbing brought in a developer to Agboro-Olatunde Village, where over 30 hectares of land belonging to the residents of the village was cleared and cash crops amounting to millions of naira were destroyed by the respondent”

“The Monarch did not have either registered or non-registered title documents on the disputed land; and the action of the Monarch is contrary to the Anti-Land Grabbing Law, 2016 of Ogun State.”