By Lukman Olabiyi
About 20 communities in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, Ogun State, have raised the alarm over alleged encroachment on their land by Ifo local government, under the disguise of building a new market.
A statement by Alhaji Rasheed Bakare Agunwa, head, Obasogun Royal family, Ilogbo Ota, claimed that the proposed location of the market “is outside the territory of Ifo Local Government.”
The communities include Olorunda Aganna, Idiagbon, Obadimu, Alaga, Olori, Olowo, Omitoro, Baba Ode, Ijemo, Oniyanmo, Sowole, Adelaja, Leshi, Kole, Sunmonnu, Aganna Babaode, Adejare and Oyero. He vowed that the communities would not cede their ancestral lands to the local government.
Agunwa said: “We are not under Ifo LG. We are under Ilogbo-Ado/Odo-Ota, but some people, in connivance with Ifo LG, want to take over our land under the pretence of building a modern market. LG should look for land within its territory, and build its market there and should not create unnecessary crises.
“We are not under Ifo LG, but some individuals want to use that means to create chaos. There is evidence that those villages are not under Ifo LG. We plead with all the Community Development Associations (CDAs) and Community Development Corporations (CDCs) of these villages not to follow those people.
“We urge Governor Dapo Abiodun, Chairman, Ado-Odo/Ota, Commissioner of Police, and Sheriff Adewale to intervene before the matter degenerates into a crisis. We urge you to help us, because the market they are planning to build starts from Ifo and some villages which are not under Ifo LG. They are using this gimmick to take over people’s land. They do not have any evidence to show that these villages are under Ifo LG.”