Land-grabbing Allegation: Osun community responds to claim of land snatching made against Nigerian Army

The authorities of Ilobu, the administrative center of Irepodun Local Government Area in Osun State, have responded to the claim of land snatching made against the Nigerian Army by Ifon-Osun town, the administrative center of Orolu Local Government Area, which is located nearby.

In addition, the Nigerian Army released a public statement on Tuesday evening disputing the claim and outlining its responsibility in defending every region of Nigeria from both internal and external aggression.

Ifon-Osun had already protested on Tuesday, alleging that the Nigerian Army was planning to seize its land for the purported purpose of constructing a facility for the area.

Allegation

Babatunde Oyetunji, the community’s regent and Eesa of Ifon-Osun, led a demonstration on Tuesday and spoke to the media, accusing the Nigerian Army of possibly stealing the land parcels belonging to their community in collusion with Ilobu community.

The Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, was allegedly preparing to use his position to forcibly seize control of the community’s land because he is a native of the Ilobu community, according to the demonstrators.

Ilobu responds

However, in response to Ifon-Osun’s assertion on Wednesday, the palace of the Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olaniyan, refuted it and labeled it an attempt to stir up trouble in the neighborhood.

Adegoke Ogunsola, the Otun Jagun of Ilobu, a senior chief and lawyer who spoke to the media on behalf of the palace, said that the community was shocked to learn of the protest against a “innocent army chief” whose appointment had been hailed by many Nigerians as the right peg in the right hole.

Mr. Ogunsola argued that it was critical to shed light on the controversies surrounding the property dispute and pointed out that Ilobu had consistently won in a number of previously decided court cases.

He added that a retired soldier and an old acquaintance visited the community’s royal father and discussed the prospect of facilitating a development center for the village before taking him to a potential site to determine its feasibility.

According to the chief, a former military member was a guest of the Olobu of Ilobu, His Royal Majesty Oba Ashiru Olatoye Olaniyan II (J.P), on Monday, August 28. During the visit, the Olobu of Ilobu proposed a scheme for the Nigerian Army’s Military-Civil Relationship. The retired general, who is close to Olobu of Ilobu, was escorted to areas of the community where people needed the project.

Without a doubt, the locations visited are a part of the Ilobu Community. For the umpteenth time, court rulings and the Osun State Gazette have supported this claim.

He listed various cases to include those in cases with suit no: HOY/20/70 between Oba J. O. Akinyooye II, the Olufon of Ifon Osun, Oba Aminu Siyanbola, as delivered on 17 July, 1973; judgement in Appeal No FCA/I/1978 between Oba J. O. Akinyooye II, the Olufon of Ifon Osun, and Prince Salami Adesina and Prince Kola Oyewumi delivered on 22 September, 1981.

Other decisions mentioned by the chief were those with the case number HOS/22/86 between Jimoh Adigun & Amusa Akanni and Oba Asiru Olaniyan, delivered on October 18, 1991, and the appeal case number CA/I/153/98 between Amusa Akanni and Oba Asiru Olaniyan, delivered on July 7, 2005, among others.

The judgment in the case HOS/40/2015 between the Governor of Osun State and five other parties and HRM Oba A. A. Magbagbeola (OLufon of Ifon) and Orolu local government was also listed by Mr. Ogunsola, the most recent chairman of Irepodun Local Government. It was allegedly recently delivered on July 13, 2018.

“Don’t occupy the army chief”

A review of the community’s historical behavior, according to Mr. Ogunsola, would show that the community is acting out of desperation and jealousy in the protest by the palace of Ifon Osun, which he termed as meaningless rantings.

“Eesa of Ifon-Osun and Jide Akinyooye’s current rantings were not different from their earlier lies,” he declared. The Olobu of Ilobu, Chiefs, and residents of Ilobu once more thank Asiwaju Bola Hammed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for selecting Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, a well-known son of Ilobu, for a national assignment.

“We want to underline that the Ifon-Osun community’s assertion is an effort to divert attention away from the president and the Chief of Army Staff’s pursuit of the Renewed Hope Agenda for Nigeria.

Army’s response

Onyema Nwachukwu, the Nigerian Army’s spokeswoman, called the accusation nasty and untrue earlier on Tuesday and urged the public to ignore it.

He said that the demonstrators were “just out to damage the excellent image of the army chief and the institution it represents” and that the Nigerian Army was not currently participating in any procedure surrounding the acquisition of any piece of land for any project, whether in Orolu or elsewhere.

The Nigerian Army issued the following statement, which was posted on its official Facebook page: “The Nigerian Army (NA) has been notified of malicious allegations reportedly peddled in a press statement by one Chief Babatunde Oyetunji, Eesa of Ifon, in which he levelled allegations that the Nigerian Army (NA) has decided to forcefully acquire land for a proposed project in Orolu Community of Orolu Local Govt of Osun State.

Without sugarcoating it, the NA wants to make it clear that the claim is wholly untrue, spiteful, and an attempt by some vested interests to damage the good name of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and tarnish the character of the organization.

Possible justification for the claim

According to Mr. Nwachukwu, one of the steps the Nigerian Army is taking to increase public trust in the Nigerian Army is “through the instrumentality of Civil-Military Cooperation activities or programmes of the Nigerian Army.”

“This approach is basically focused on encouraging collaboration and energizing support from the general public for NA’s many operations to alleviate security concerns around the country. Therefore, the NA typically carries out specialized community intervention projects, such as hospitals, boreholes, and electrification among others, based on needs assessment, after consulting with the leadership of such communities, at the command of senior officers who are from the benefiting community, according to the army spokesman.

The retired senior officer who is conceptualizing this particular case and intends to present it to the Nigerian Army, he continued, is the only one. According to him, no proposition has been made.

The Nigerian Army hereby disavows any role in any effort to seize any common property. A competent and law-abiding institution, the Nigerian Army has always adhered to due process in all of the intervention initiatives that it has thus far undertaken. The statement urged the public to reject the accusations and keep supporting the Nigerian Army’s kinetic and non-kinetic operations nationwide.