Landgrabbers invade Ogun community, shoot, abduct residents

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Hoodlums suspected to be landgrabbers on the midnight of Sunday invaded Ilate-Etido Community in Obafemi-Owode Local Area of Ogun State and forced the residents to flee the community.

The hoodlums numbering about 30 and armed with guns, machete and other dangerous weapons, were reported to have started shooting sporadically and forcing residents to flee their homes under duress.

A resident of the community, Bayo Adeoye, told our correspondent on the phone that he escaped being killed by the hoodlums by the whiskers, saying several people were shot while some were abducted by the invaders.

He added that the hoodlums were led by two notorious landgrabbers from the Mowe axis.

Adeoye, who is one of the youth leaders in the community, said the invasion was not unconnected with the sealing of a sand dredging and mining company owned by Ojibas Nigeria Limited in the Ilate-Etido Community.

In a two minute video that has gone viral on the social media, Ilate-Etido Community was shown deserted as residents have fled their homes.

The voice in the video was heard calling on the Ogun State government to come to save the residents and rescue the community from the siege of the landgrabbers.

Officials from the Mining Inspectorate Department, Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, had on July 9, 2024 sealed the company for operating illegally two years after its license had been revoked.

But the company said to be owned by a businessman from Osun State, Babatunde Tajudeen Abioye, otherwise known as TJ of Holland, was reported to have defied the ‘Stop Work Order’ by the Federal Government and resumed operations in the community last Thursday.

Representatives of the company were said to have stormed the community with scores of hoodlums and reopened the sealed mining site.

Hoodlums armed with dangerous weapons were also reported to have cut the reflective tapes used by the Federal Mines Office to indicate sealing of the site.

Links to the video..

Reacting to the midnight invasion of his community, the Village Head of Ilate-Etido, Chief Shamsideen Ajibawo, expressed shock, describing the invasion as an “act of banditry and terrorism”.

He added that the landgrabbers led by two notorious land agents are working in cahoots with Ojibas Company to sack his community in order to continue with its illegal mining activities.

“I was informed on Monday morning that land grabbers led by two notorious land agents invaded my community and started shooting and forced people to fled their homes in the middle of the night.

“I was also told that some of the residents who tried to resist the invasion were shot by the hoodlums, while some were abducted. As the community head, I am calling on our dear governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, to please save Ilate-Etido from the combined siege of landgrabbers and Ojibas Company”.

“Representatives of Ojibas are sniffing out means of livelihood from my people. We are helpless and our town is currently under siege by the owner of the company who has vowed to eliminate anyone standing in his way.

“Personally, I have made efforts which led to the arrest of these illegal miners by the combined team of soldiers from the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta and police operatives from the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force, Onikan, Lagos, on May 28, 2024.

“The security team also arrested some policemen and soldiers providing cover for these illegal miners headed by a Chinese national and whisked them to Onikan for interrogations.

“Before then, scores of residents of the Ilate-Etido community had staged a protest against the company, lamenting negative and destructive impacts of the illegal dredging of sand in the area, which according to them, had affected their farmlands, environment and their sources of living.

“With this brazen invasion and sacking of my community by landgrabbers in the employ of Ojibas Company, I want to make a strong appeal to the Ogun State government, security agencies and other relevant authorities to save my community from the clutches of landgrabbers and the illegal mining company”, Chief Ajibawo stated.

 

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