A Beninois Nationale, Agosun Samuel has petitioned the Ogun State government, the Nigerian Police, Department of State Security and other law enforcement agencies of an attempt to illegally dispossess him of his property by the Olu of Olohunda, Oba Theophilus Olatunbosun.
In the petition, Agosun alleged that the royal father has also banished him from coming to Olohunda, a town in Ewekoro local government, under the guise of him being a security threat to the community.
The letter which was also addressed to the Commissioner for Chieftaincy affairs in Ogun State reads in part, “Plea To Ogun State Commissioner For Local Government And Chieftancy Affairs Over Olu Of Olohunda’s unconscionable Arrogation Of Power, Incessant Molestation, Threat To Life And Peaceful Coexistence Of Ethnic Groups In His Domain As A Result Of His Unfettered Land Grabbing.
“The Honorable Commissioner sir, we are writing to intimate you of the Olu Of Olohunda, Oba Theophilus Olatunbosun’s presumptuous arrogation of power to intimidate and abuse non indigenes in his domain, all in a bid to forcefully acquire their lands and properties.
“We are forced to bring to your immediate attention the matter of one Agosun Samuel who the Olu Of Olohunda claimed to have banished from the village over a matter of land tussle which the former purchased from a Traditional Chief, Baale Kayode Oyekan (Baale of Olohunda Community) in Olohunda Railway Station in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State (with receipt), but which Oba Olatunbosun is now claiming as its own.
“Oba Olatunbosun claimed that the piece of land at Olohunda Railway Station belonged to him but Agosun protested, insisting that Kabiyesi should straighten things up with Baale Kayode Oyekan, his chief who sold it to him but he refused. Instead, he sent police after him. The police came to arrest him on a Friday, detained him over the weekend and took him to court by the Monday of the new week.
“The case was brought before Magistrate O.A Onagoruwa at Magistrate Court 1 in Ifo who found him not guilty, hence acquitted him.
“But, despite being discharged and acquitted in a court of law, Oba Olatunbosun did not stop his harassment as he continued to hound Agosun Samuel about with security officers, the Amotekun Corps.
“Presently, he had forcefully taken over the piece of land in question, dismantled the foundation structure which Mr Agosun Samuel made.
“Oba Olatunbosun had also unilaterally proclaimed the banishment of Mr Agosun Samuel, insisting that he should not come back to Olohunda, a place he had lived for about 30 years now and where all his family still live.
“Oba Olatunbosun insisted that Agosun Samuel can only return to his abode on the payment of a fine of N1,000,000.00 (One million Naira) and an apology for daring to be confrontational with the king.
“Several mediators have been sent to Oba Olatunbosun to plead with him but to no avail.
“We are making a passionate appeal to you Sir to please use your good offices to wade into this matter, so as to restrain power drunk Oba Olatunbosun, so that Agosun Samuel can go back to his house, family and business.
“This is imperative Sir, so that Agosun Samuel who is being hunted about because he is an Egun can have his peace of mind.
“We make a passionate appeal to you Sir to help accord this matter the priority it deserves as Mr Agosun Samuel is being hunted about like an outlaw, all because he is not a Nigerian.
“It is noteworthy to call to attention that no part of the Nigerian Constitution forbids an indigene of the Republic of Benin from holding property in Nigeria, if the property is legally acquired.
“I assure you Sir, that the Eguns from the Republic of Benin living in Nigeria are peaceful and hard working constituents of the society that abide by the laws, rules and norms of this great nation, Nigeria.
“We will also require that we be accorded due respects as we give to our hosts especially as we are also related to our kiths and kin here in Nigeria and vice versa.
Speaking on the allegation, Agosun who also met with newsmen on his ordeal alleged that Olu of Olohunda, a town on the fringe of the ‘Gateway State’, away from its capital, Abeokuta has banished him from non-indigene from his town, destroyed his property and imposed a N1,000,000 penalty on him, if he wants to return to his house in the town.
A tussle which began over a disputed piece of land is now threatening to burgeon into a diplomatic row as Oba Theophilus Olatunbosun, the Olu Of Olohunda in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State has unilaterally taken the decision to banish Samuel Agosun, an Egun man from the Republic of Benin from his domain with the warning that he should never return except if he pays a fine of one million naira (N1,000,000) to the monarch.
The banished Samuel Agosun, who has a house in Olohunda, even before Oba Olatunbosun’s ascension to the throne and has been living in the town since 30 years ago, now lives about as an outlaw as he cannot go back home to see his wife and children who are still resident in the town.
The travails of Samuel Agosun began some few months ago when he decided to build a structure on a piece of land he had bought over two years ago at Olohunda Railway Station from the Baale of the area, Chief Kayode Oyekan.
Speaking to the press in Abeokuta where he pleaded for immediate intervention of the Nigerian authority on his matter, Agosun said Oba Olatunbosun was passing when he saw masons on the land and stopped to ask for who ordered the work. He said that when the Oba was told that he (Agosun) was the one, he ordered that the work be stopped immediately, saying contemptuously that an Egun man cannot build on a prime land.
“He then sent for me and at his palace he ordered me to present the receipt of purchase but I declined insisting he should call the Chief who sold the land to me. But to my surprise, he sent the police after me. They came after me, seized my motorcycle and locked me up over the weekend”, Agosun narrated.
“On the Monday, I was summarily taken to Magistrate Court 1 at Ifo for trial for trespassing on a community land as he had quickly put a signage on the land that it was meant for a police station. After a protracted case, the magistrate discharged and acquitted me, saying Oba Olatunbosun should first straighten things up with Chief Oyekan who sold the land to me”, Agosun further narrated.
But, according to Agosun, Oba Olatunbosun refused to accept the court judgement as he has now destroyed the foundation erected on the piece of land and also banished him from the town for daring to be confrontational with the king.
“As the police had washed their hands off the matter, seeing Oba Olatunbosun had lost in court, the Oba now resorted to the Amotekun Corps who now hounds me about”, Agosun lamented.
Agosun said he had sent several people to intercede for him before Oba Olatunbosun but all to no avail as the Oba insisted on forfeiture of the land and payment of the N1,000,000 fine.
When contacted over the phone for his reactions, Oba Olatunbosun said the land in question belonged to the community and should not have been sold to Agosun.
He curtly dismissed further questioning by the journalists as he claimed that the matter is now in the High Court.
Meanwhile, Agosun who dismissed the excuse of Oba Olatunbosun that the matter was already in the High Court as a lie and a ruse for the monarch to go unreprimanded has sent high powered letters to the Inspector General of Police, the Ogun State Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs as well as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly for their immediate intervention.
Meanwhile, the President of the Union Of Beninese Resident In Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, Engr. Romaine Kakapo was said to have also forwarded the report of the incident to their ambassador here in Nigeria.
