The popular saying that all days are for the thief and one day is for the owner could best describe the fate of a 52 year old notorious land-grabber identified as Mr. Nafiu Abiodun Kasumu, who is currently being prosecuted by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police for land-grabbing and criminal offences.
According to the report gathered, Nafiu has remained a thorn in the flesh of the resident of Oke-Eletu and Ginti area of Ijede Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Ikorodu division, where he was alleged to have forcibly taken over hundreds acres of land and unlawfully selling them despite resistance from families that own the land and several court injunctions warning him against such action. It was also gathered that Nafiu had unlawfully persisted in parading himself as the Regent of Oke-Eletu town.
Copies of the judgement with suit no: IKD/1/2014 between Alhaja Sidikat Olabopo Longe (Nee Idowu) and others versus Attorney General of Lagos State and others as well as the Public Notice by the Oke-Eletu town on the judgement were sent to Oriwu Sun. One of the families, whose land was encroached in Ginti by Nafiu in 2017, Banjoko Ogidi family, was reported to have sent several entreaties to him to vacate the land as he has no lawful connection to the family or the land but instead of heeding the family’s appeal and warning, Nafiu and his cohorts resorted to violence as they contracted the services of thugs, who close members of the family found on the land with cutlasses, guns and other dangerous weapons.
Also, a member of the Banjoko Ogidi family, Alhaji Morufu Adepelu Olowosago, who bought four plots of land from the family for his proposed farming business, was equally prevented from taking ownership of his portion of the land as he was on several occasions chased out of the land with cutlasses, axes, guns and other dangerous weapons. Having exhausted all available amicable means to take ownership of the plots of land to no avail, Alhaji Olowosago lodged a court case against Nafiu at the Ikorodu High Court on July 20, 2018 and on December 2, 2019, Hon. Justice L. B. Akapo gave an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Nafiu (the defendant in the case) and his agents, servants or privies from dealing in anyway or carrying out any construction work on any part of the four plots of land pending the hearing and final determination of the case.
Despite the court restraining order, Nafiu was said to have continued to access the said land unlawfully, a situation which prompted Alhaji Olowosago to write a petition to the Area ‘N’ Command in Ijede seeking the arrest and prosecution of Nafiu for contempt of court order but this was also to no avail as the alleged land-grabber was said to have used his influence and connections in preventing the Police from acting on the petition. It was also gathered that Nafiu had on several occasion used his influence and connections to orchestrate the redeployment of Commanders of Area ‘N’ command, who failed to do his biddings, while members of the Banjoko Ogidi family had also being attacked, unlawfully arrested and detained by the Police on his order.
However, nemesis caught up with Nafiu when Alhaji Olowosago re-presented his petition against him to the current commander of Area ‘N’ command, who, according to report, showed interest in the case and ordered his arrest on Monday, March 2, 2020. Upon his arrest by the officers of the Area ‘N’ command in the evening of March 2, Nafiu was arraigned the following day before Justice H. O. A. Amos at the Lagos State Magistrate Court in Ijede on a four – count charge of criminal.
Offences ranging from forcibly entering a land belonging to Banjoko. Ogidi family, unlawfully holding possession of the said land without any claim of right, using thugs carrying cutlasses, axes, guns and other dangerous weapons to chase one Dawodu Moruf Ogidi and other members of Banjoko Ogidi family from their land at Ginti village and refusing to obey the ruling of the High Court of Lagos State in Suit No: IKD/8070 LMW/2019 and Suit No: IKD/755/LMW/18, that there shall be no further development, building or construction on the disputed land, were levelled against him.
Mr. Dayo Abudu, the Counsel to the defendant (Nofiu), while praying the court for bail in most liberal term for his client, raised objection to the four – count charge but the objection was summarily dismissed by the Magistrate, who stated that the objection could only be heard when proper trial commences. However, upon the agreement of the Prosecuting Counsel, Inspector A. Isaac, to the bail request by the defendant counsel, the Magistrate granted Nafiu a bail with the sum of N200,000 and two surety, one of whom must be a Civil Servant on level 12 while the other must show evidence of tax payment for a period of two years with evidence of tax clearance from the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service.
Magistrate Amos also announced Thursday, March 5, 2020, for the commencement of the full trial of Nafiu over the criminal cases brought against him by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (Prosecutor).
Meanwhile, in an interview with a member of the Banjoko Ogidi family, Mr. Tajudeen Adewale Ogidi, he stated that Nafiu unlawfully encroached on their family land and every effort to retrieve the land from his possession have failed. He explained that while the family has been able to present necessary documents proving their ownership of the said land during the several court cases over the matter, Nafiu had failed to present any genuine document that can authenticate his claim to the land but that he was been able to use his influence to frustrate the court cases.
Mr. Ogidi also alleged that Nafiu had on several occasions used thugs to chase members of the family out of the land and perpetrated their unlawful arrest and detention, while also using thugs to provide security for those who bought the land from him during construction. While stating that the suit against Nafiu over his forceful entry into the family land at Ginti is still ongoing at the Lagos State High court, Ogidi said the family decided to sue him for criminal offences due to his frequent threats and deadly attacks on members of the family. He said the family has the overwhelming support of the people of Oke-Eletu, where he said Nafiu had also unlawfully taken over most of the land.
While expressing confidence over his family’s victory at the court, Mr. Ogidi stated that his family would take full possession of the said land after getting judgement from the court and would not entertain any ratification from anybody that bought any portion of the land from Nafiu as they had already issued warning against such action.