Lagos businesswoman, Mrs. Adebayo Adewole Aderonke, has dragged the duo of Morufu Owonla, a.k.a Kaka and Azeez Lawal Adekunle a.k.a. Kunle Poly, before Lagos State government, accusing them of alleged land grabbing.

The businesswoman, in a petition written by her lawyer, Ademola Adefolaju of Lords & Temple, to the Lagos State Attorney-General and Justice Commissioner, and Chairman, Lagos State Special Task Force on Land Grabbers, pleaded for recovery of her 2 acres of land from the alleged land grabbers.

The businesswoman’s petition dated January 19, 2024 and captioned: “conduct amounting to entry into property by violence; unlawful sale of property; encroaching on property with weapons, use of land agents; and illegal occupation of property situate at Idioparun, Harmony Estate, Oke-Ira Nla, Ajah, Lagos State, being property owned by Mrs. Adebayo-Adewole Aderonke, and Purchased From Alhaji Moroof Owonla a.k.a. Kaka Contrary To Sections 2; 3; 4; 5; 7 and 8 of the Lagos State Property Protection Law 2016. petition against Alhaji Morufu Owonla, a.k.a Kaka and Azeez Lawal Adekunle a.k.a. Kunle Poly.”

Part of the petition reads : “We are Solicitors to Mrs. Adebayo Adewole Aderonke, of No 26, Tunji Olupbodi, Marshy Hill Estate, ‘Ajah, Lagos State, herein referred to as our client.

“It’s our brief that sometimes in 2012 our client purchased a parcel of land situate at Idi Oparun, Harmony Estate, Oke-Ira Nla, Aja, Lagos State, from Alhaji Moroof Owolana aka Kaka (hereinafter referred to as Kaka), following which the land was fenced round with a gate and a sign board erected at the entrance thereof. It is sacrosanct to state here that our client purchased 4 Acres of land from Kaka, having paid through Omo-West who acted as agent of Kaka in the transaction with Kaka’s consent and authorisation, our client was only able to recover 2 acres from the same after completion of payment.

“Sometime between 2014 and 2016, while our client was in India for medical treatment, our client was informed that Kaka and his boys had sold the land to a third party, who immediately erected a foundation thereon, while the fence and the gate were pulled down by the third party. Upon our client’s return to Nigeria after treatment, our client called the attention of Kaka to the anomaly, but Kaka at the time claimed ignorance of the activities of the 3rd party, the transaction and their entry into the property, while efforts to reach the 3rd party proved abortive.

“Sometime in 2018/2019, having returned to Nigeria after treatment, our client began to sandfill the raft foundation, consequent upon which the 3rd party showed up and the matter was reported to Langbasa Police Station, and on realising she had been inveigled into buying the property, the 3rd party allegedly proceeded to sell the land to a certain Kunle Poly with the aim of deploying him as a threat and intimidation against our client. Kunle Poly who owns and manages a property adjacent to the property in issue approached our client and proposed to buy off our client’s interest in the property with a consideration of N1, 000, 000.00 (One Million Naira) only, which our Client refused.

“On the 1st of January, 2024, our client who had instructed her agent to move some broken blocks to the frontage of the property was later informed that some thugs came to stop him from doing so, and while speaking with our client on the phone, the agent was harassed by Kunle Poly’s boys with broken bottles and mercilessly beaten to a state of stupor, upon which our client immediately proceeded to the property and on getting there, the Tugs from Kunle Poly seized the wheelbarrow being used by the agent. When our client enquired from the thugs who authorised them, they replied that the land belonged to their boss Kunle Poly, and that he instructed them to beat up anybody they find on the land.

“Having returned home, on the evening of the same day, Kunle Poly brought with him 4 Police Officers from Langbasa Division 1 to harass our client. Our client took the officers to the property, while our client instructed her daughter to ensure a video recording of events were taken, however, to our clients consternation, when Kunle Poly realised that he is being recorded, he hijacked the phone from our client’s daughter and deleted all the recordings made of the event of that day, and the officers brought in immediately left the scene without further action. It was thereafter that Kunle Poly started pleading for amicable settlement and offered N2 Million as consideration, which our client again vehemently refused, considering the sum expended to purchase the property, and instead gave a counter offer of $50, 000 (Fifty Thousand U.S. Dollars) USD or share the land and the foundation thereon into two equal party which Kunle on his part also refused, and offered to meet again on the 4th of January for negotiation.

“In a bid not to resort to self-help which will amount to break down of law and order, our client hereby call for the intervention of your good office sir, to swing into action by investigating our client’s claims, arresting and interrogating the suspects and prosecuting the suspects if found guilty for running foul of the law.

“We equally urge that you direct Kaka and Kunle Poly to allow our client have access, possession and control of their property to forestall the likely breakdown of peace, law and order as our client is not amenable to taking the law into her hands at this critical stage