Members of Sholabi Enitinwa Family of Itori in Ewekoro Local Government, Ogun State, have appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun and the State council of Obas and Chiefs to save them from intimidation and harassment by a prominent traditional ruler in the state following the invasion of their ancestral homeland in Adunbu village, Ogun State.
The family in a Save Our Souls (SOS) letter addressed to the governor alleged that the traditional ruler forcefully took over their ancestral lands, as they are now “in palpable fear of attacks by the invaders.” Copies of the letter were also sent to the Inspector General of Police and the Director General, Department of State Services (DSS).
The family stated that “the said traditional ruler hides under the pretext of being oblivious to the issue on ground in order to avoid complicity in the situation but his antics and craft have, however, become clear to all and sundry within the community.”
The Sholabi family insisted that they who came from Ake division of Abeokuta could not be laying claims to the property that belongs to Sholabi family of Ago-Oko “under the leadership of Oba Adedapo Tejuoso, Oshile of Oke Ona.” The family pleaded with the authorities, including the IGP and DSS to come to their aid and flush out the hoodlums currently occupying their community.
The family added that the “traditional father imposed four village heads (Baale) to lord over them in a territory that is not within his jurisdiction.
“The intervention of governor and the Council of Obas have become imperative to put an end to reckless abuse of power, brazen disregard for the laws of Ogun State as enforceable in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The family appealed to the state government to urgently investigate abuses being perpetrated by the royal father in the community including intimidation and harassment by the monarch, whom they claimed has been enriching himself with the commonwealth of the natives of the land.
“We are being terrorised, oppressed, assaulted, humiliated, harassed, intimidated on our homeland. The only hope we have is your power to intervene and investigate this matter,” the family stated.