Uneasy calm in Ogun community as two land agents’ clash

…Many injured, property worth millions of naira destroyed

As residents flee homes

Emeka Ibemere

Unless serious security is mobilized to Egan Arepo community of Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, the community may be turned into a theater

of war. As at time of going to the Press, all are definitely not well at the moment with community, following reported clashes of two contending land developers on a portion of property in the area.

For now, residents of the area are living in trepidation over the danger the unfolding events there portends to their daily living.

There are fears that some residents of the community have started fleeing their homes to avert being caught in crossfire.

Residents say if urgent steps are not taken, the developing scenario at Egan Arepo community of Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State could degenerate to absolute lawlessness, unless relevant security agencies nip the crisis in the bud. But what is the bone of contention.

The crisis stems from dispute over a portion of land in the community between two land developers identified as Bimaj Top Realties Limited trading under the name of Bevillah Estates and another Messrs Crystal Global Assets Limited.

Our Correspondent gathered that since the crisis started, several workers of one of the developers had been harassed and beaten to stupor by suspected agents of the other while property worth millions of naira had been destroyed while many others are still lying waste in parts of the disputed portions of the land without the owners able to access the sites to retrieve their tools.

Investigations revealed that trouble started in the area sometime in January 2014, when one of the developers allegedly encroached into the portion belonging to the other claiming the area to be part of his own portion.

When the clashes on the said portion of land started gathering storm, security agents were brought in to douse the rising tension but in spite of the mediation of security agents on the dispute urging the feuding parties to sheathe their swords pending when an amicable resolution on the matter was sought, a suspected notorious thug supposedly working for Bevillah Estates, identified simply as Wale, and his cohorts allegedly continued their atrocities against workers of the other party to the dispute.

It was gathered that the disputed portion of land emanated from the acclaimed encroachment on its land by representatives of Bevillah Estates, who it was gathered, purchased a 30 acres of land but extended its reach with four more acres of land thereby encroaching on the land belong to Messrs Crystal Global Assets Limited.

Investigations revealed that Messrs Crystal Global Assets Limited purchased its own portion of land from Dehin Ashipe and Aderinoye families of the community with the two families having executed separate Irrevocable Powers of Attorney in favour of Messrs Crystal Global Assets Limited. The traditional ruler of the community, Oba Atanda Solomon Oyebi and some powerful individuals in the community were also reportedly represented during the transactions.

But the said Wale apparently acting for Bevillah Estates forcefully gained entry into the land while work was going on and pulled out all Crystal Global Assets Limited’s poles/beacons already erected and started erecting another wire fence on the disputed land.

On the said day, some construction workers of Messrs Crystal Global Assets Limited on site were allegedly beaten and injured while their working tools were reportedly seized. Since then and now, it was gathered that agents of the said Wale have continued to harassed Messrs Crystal Global Assets Limited workers while allegedly threatening the live of their principal, one Mr Dare Adejumo.

In a petition sent to the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Criminal Investigations Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja by Shina Adedeji & Co on behalf of Messrs Crystal Global Assets Limited and dated April 29, 20914, against owners of Bevillah Estates, a copy of which was made available to Daily Newswatch, the former alleged threat to the lives of its Managing Director and some of its workers, while also claiming malicious damage, harassment and intimidation by thus supposedly working for the latter.

The petition reads in part: “Our client was surprised to see one Mr. Bimbo, MD/CEO of Bevillah Estate and his devilish agent, Wale second name unknown but popularly known as Aremo, a notorious land grabber forcibly entered into the land with his thugs who armed themselves with dangerous weapons like guns, cutlasses, juju (charms) and other weapons pulled out all our poles and beacons already erected and started erecting his own wire fence on the land we have paid for with the assistance of his hoodlums”.

“This was after the Oba in Council had directed that all work on the site should stop to give way for amicable settlement of the dispute.”

At the time, it was gathered that the matter assigned to Force CID, Alagbon, Ikoyi, and Lagos State where Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeyanju took charge of the matter.

Speaking with Mr. Adejumo on the matter, he claimed that some of his workers on site were badly beaten and that on one occasions, he escaped being lynched by thugs on the site by the whiskers.

Mr. Adejumo begins his story thus, “The matter was thoroughly investigated (by the police) and it was discovered that there was substance in the petition (his own petition). All the parties – Bimbo, Dehin Ashipe family, Aderinoye family, the Olu of Arepo, Oba Solomon Atanda Oyebi, Chief Lateef Ashaolu (Akogun of Arepo), the Crystal Global Assets’ team, and all the witnesses came. Statements were obtained from all the parties.

“The police at Alagbon sent a fact-finding team to Arepo to obtain facts from all the parties. The Arepo Community was led by Chief Lateef Ashaolu, the Akogun of Arepo. Chief Akogun discovered that Bimbo’s land sold to him by Aribido family does not fall within the portion claimed by him and he also found out that the land granted to Crystal Global Assets Limited by Dehin Ashipe and Aderinoye families to develop actually belong to the two families (Dehin Ashipe and Aderinoye families) and parties were informed accordingly.

“His Royal Highness reported the outcome of the findings to the Police at Alagbon. Bimbo also accepted that the land does not belong to his company as same does not fall within the Aribido family land that sold land to him.

 “Surprisingly, in the evening of the site visitation by the Police team from Alagbon when Bimbo had accepted this land does not belong to him and he had accepted to remove his wire fence, he called Chief Akogun and started inducing him with money that Chief Akogun should give the Dehin Ashipe family land and Aderinoye family land to him that he would reward him with huge financial compensation. Chief Akogun refused his monetary inducement and promptly reported the matter to Ibafo and Algbon Police stations. When Chief Akogun refused Bimbo’s overtures, Bimbo started threatening Chief Akogun that nobody should go to the land as failure to heed his threat will be met with stiff resistance by his hoodlums,” Mr Adejumo said.

He also claimed that the threat to his life and those of his workers are still continuing. One of his workers, identified simply as Raimi, who spoke with our reporter claimed that he was seriously injured by the said Wale and his agents. In the words of Raimi, “I escaped death by sheer grace. I could have been dead by now but for the grace of God. I went to the site that day but I did not know that there was any dispute on our site until then. Midway into our work about 20 thugs stormed the site and at that time I was resting under a tree when they attacked me.” Raimi claimed he is receiving treatment in an undisclosed clinic in Lagos.

Kunle is another worker who claimed he was tortured by the thugs on the said day. According to Kunle, “I was on an errand for our boss on the site when the people met me on the way. They asked me whom I was working for and I told them. That was when two of them started beating me until I fainted before they left me.”

Abimbola Babatunde, Managing Director of Bevillah Estates when contacted on telephone on the allegations against his agents, did not only laugh off the claims, but described them as “frivolous and unfounded.”

In the words of Mr. Abimbola, “The man (Mr. Adejumo) is just lying. He is a known liar. We are too responsible to be sending thugs after him as he claimed. Let him go and prove his case in the court and stop peddling rumours against.”