As parts of its quasi-judicial functions,the Ogun State House of Assembly today passed a resolution calling on the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade (SAN) to prosecute the Olu of Obafemi, in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area, Oba Taofeek Kayode Owolabi in accordance with the provisions of the State Anti-Land Grabbing Law, 2016 and other extant laws.
The Assembly also directed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the State Council of Obas to immediately suspend the monarch for perpetrating acts capable of disrupting the peace of the residents of Agboro-Olatunde village and the people of the State at large.
The passage of the resolution followed the presentation of the report of the House Committees on Justice, Ethics and Public Petitions on the petitions received arising from the petition received from Agboro Olatunde Community Development Association against the monarch, as presented by the Vice- Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Tella Babatunde, who thereafter moved for its adoption, seconded by Hon. Olusegun Kaka and supported by the whole house through a voice vote.
Consequently, the Majority Leader, Yusuf Sheriff, later moved the motion converting the Committee’s recommendations into the House resolution, which was seconded by the Minority Leader Lukman Adeleye and supported by the whole House, through a unanimous voice vote.
The report partly reads: “in view of the allegations raised by the petitioners and the failure of the respondent to honour the invitation of the House on the issues raised by the petitioners, the Committee embarked on the spot assessment of the land under contention and observed as follows: that there is a land dispute between the residents of Agboro-Olatunde Village and Oba Taofeek Kayode Owolabi (The Olu of Obafemi); the land under contention is located at Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State; the Monarch who was alleged of land grabbing brought in a developer to Agboro-Olatunde Village, where over 30 hectares of land belonging to the residents of the village was cleared and cash crops amounting to millions of naira were destroyed by the respondent.
The Monarch did not have either registered or non-registered title documents on the disputed land; and the action of the Monarch is contrary to the Anti-Land Grabbing Law, 2016 of Ogun State”, the report read.
