Judicial Panel On Illegal Land Deal Receives 114 Petitions, Begins Sitting In Ogun

As the Judicial Panel of Inquiry constituted by the Ogun State government to look into land matters between January 2004 and May 2011 began sitting today in Abeokuta, the state capital after it received not less than 114 petitions.

At today’s inaugural sitting, at least 52 petitioners were present to defend their claims before the 5-man panel headed by Justice Abiodun Akinyemi.

The panel, which has its sitting at the Oba’s Complex at Oke-Mosan, was able to hear complaints from some villagers whose lands were allegedly seized by the aides to the former governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

At Oba’s Complex, venue of the sitting, the commission’s chairman, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi presided over the inaugural meeting, which had in attendance other members including Ayo Biobaku, Dipo Onabanjo and Niyi Oguntubo while the fifth member was absent.

Akinyemi said that the action of the committee would be guided by laws of natural justice, adding that the proceedings would be done as transparent as possible.

He stressed that the fact-finding mission of the commission was not aimed at witch-hunting anyone and that no one should feel intimidated.

“This commission will be transparent and fair to everyone, nobody is on trial here, it is purely a fact finding commission and a political gathering and therefore nobody should feel intimidated.

“We will do our best to ensure that what will we do is right and guided by the rule of natural justice. We will admit documents without rigours and technicalities of the law court. We will not be bothered by undue technicalities and know the truth about every matter as much as we can. This commission is made up of senior members of the bar,” he said.

A middle-aged woman, who identified herself as Mrs Monsurat Bakares stunned the gathering when she swore by a knife before testifying, signifying her belief in Ogun (Yoruba’s traditional god of iron).

Bakare, who had approached the commission over an acre of land which she claimed belonged to her father, lamented that she was duped by Olatunji Ladega, who she alleged to have conspired with some officials of the state’s Housing Corporation.

Counsel to one of the petitioners, Barr. Benjamin Ogunmodede, prayed the commission to summon the former Director-General of the Bureau of Lands and Survey, Gbenga Ogunnoiki, to appear before it so as to shed more light on some grey areas.

The Director of Lands in the Bureau, Mr. Kunle Osota was also asked by the commission to prepare relevant and adequate information that would aid the commission achieve its set objectives In his own reaction, the former Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the former governor, Adegbenro Adebanjo, has said that allocation of land under Daniel’s administration was, “transparently done and it is important for us to note that in the process of ensuring that Ogun became the leading investment destination of choice in the country, we adopted a liberalised land policy.”

He further stated that, “we are proud that under our administration, areas which hitherto were backwaters and which nobody wanted to come to do business have become havens for investors who were encouraged, through various incentives, to set up business ventures. The same policy was adopted to attract many property developers and promoters of housing estates who have now made Ogun State the fastest growing property market in the country. The value they add to the lives of our people and the benefits to our economy far outweigh the concessions we gave them on the purchase of land.”

Adegbenro added that “it is therefore illogical for anybody to compare the fees paid for land in Lagos to that paid in Ogun State.”

At the end of sitting today, only ten petitions could be attended to by the commission and the sitting has been adjourned till tomorrow at the same venue.

By Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta