‘Land grabbing’: Elegushi family petitions army over alleged threat to life

The royal family of Elegushi of Ikateland in Lagos state has petitioned the Nigerian army over alleged threat to life and encroachment to its ancestral land by a brigadier general in the army.

In a petition, MA Omotayo of Bandele Omotayo & Co, the family lawyer, stated that the family of Elegushi is displeased with the attempt to use the personnel from the army signal to unleash mayhem on its clients.

Omotayo noted that a trespasser had attempted to use the army official to grab a land belonging to the family’s client at Itedo in the Eti-Osa LGA of the state.

The lawyer stated that all the cases instituted over the ownership of the land has been decided in favour of the Elegushi family, adding that the Nigerian army should not be dragged into civil matters.

“The said brigadier general accompanied by some of his men attacked John Ogunyemi at his personal office along Admiralty Way, Lekki On July 16, 2022. Having lost in court on several occasions, the trespasser engaged the services of the army official to unleash terror, assault, harass and intimidate our client,” the petition read in part.

“Our clients were terrorised, oppressed, assaulted, humiliated, harassed, intimidated, their human rights abused by soldiers as if they were at war. As such have become so disenchanted and worried that the machineries of the army could be deployed to terrorize Nigerian citizens for no just cause but to illegally help their cohorts wrestle land that has been adjudged to belong to our client by courts of competent jurisdiction.

“Our client, Elegushi Royal Family including Elegushi Ifasegun and Elegushi Property Investment company are the owners of all land in the Ikate Elegushi kingdom which includes Itedo, Gbara, Igbokushu, Iroko-Awe, Ilasan, Ologolo, Igbo Olube, Alajapa and Aro all in the Eti-Osa LGA of Lagos state. The Ownership of the which has been stamped with the force of the law in different cases up to the supreme court in suit number: SC/29/75: City Property Development Limited VS. AG Lagos State, Onikoyi Chieftaincy Family & 2 others delivered on January 30, 1976.

“Another ruling with suit number LD/2275/96, the court in its judgement in delivered on November 29, 2016 by Justice T.A.O Oyekan Abdullahi, our client was adjudged owners of Itedo land and village.

“The succor we opine, our clients have, is your power to intervene and investigate this matter and determine if the purpose for which the army is established is to terrorise, harass, intimidate Nigerians and grab land for an ally. If this is answered in negative, we pray the army to bring the culprits to book that sanity may return to our society.”