When recently, a bulldozer roared ferociously into a portion of huge expanse of land located along Sabo-Itoikin road and stretches down to the Shagamu road, adjacent Ikorodu Cemetery, and demolished the entire structures, including the Cooperative building of the Nigerian Police Wives Association (POWA) and several blocks of shops, people were wondering who was behind the audacious act and the kind of gut he or she has to demolish police wives’ properties.
Investigation has, however, revealed the identity of the brain behind the demolition. She is Mrs. Josephine Momoh, a powerful and well-connected land agent who, according to report, must have activated her connections with the police top hierarchy and got their approval before embarking on the demolition to take possession of the land.
Further investigation by Oriwu Sun revealed that the entire land, which runs into acres, originally belongs to the Jiboro family of Ikorodu, while Mrs. Momoh got connection with the land after she was approached by the Jiboro family to bankroll a the court case, which the family won several years ago.
According to report, the High Court judgement, which ceeded the entire land to the Jiboro family, remains uncontestable till date.
Meanwhile, a key member of the Jiboro family, while speaking with Oriwu Sun over the incident, confirmed that the family was aware of the demolition carried out by Mrs. Momoh and are in support of it.
He, however, said that the only issue the family has with Mrs. Momoh is that she did not keep to the sharing formula between her and the Jiboro family, over the portion of the land shared earlier, after winning the court case.
“She carried out the demolition on the strength of the court judgement she and the family won over the land. The family is in support of the demolition because we are together.
“The only area we have issue with her is that she’s trying to cheat us in the sense that she did not follow our agreement. We had a sharing formula which we both agreed upon when we shared a section of the land after getting the judgement.
“In the sharing formula, it was 70 percent to the family and 30 percent to her, but she did not honour that agreement”.
According to him, Mrs. Momoh did not carry the family along in demolition exercise, because of her refusal to, fulfill the agreed sharing formula and the family is considering amicable settlement in that regard.
“Although, the demolition is the right thing to do, but she did not carry the family along because the first portion of the land we shared earlier, she did not follow the agreed sharing formula. Though, she gave us something, but the percentage she gave us was way below what we both agreed upon”.
On why the Police authority allowed Mrs. Momoh to carry out the demolition since their property was on the land, he said that the police couldn’t have stopped her because they have nothing to do with the land, and that the Jiboro family is weighing a legal option over her refusal to follow their initial sharing formula.
“The police has nothing to do with the land. We are the one considering a legal option against her because of her failure to honour the sharing formula.”
Speaking further, he said that the demolished portion of the land which he said is over six acres, is not part of the section they shared earlier and that the family is already making advances to get a tangible share from Mrs. Momoh this time around.
He specifically stated that Mrs. Momoh has already agreed to give three plots to the family and that she opted to sell the said three plots and hand over the proceed to the family afterwards.
He added that the family has approached the Ayangbure of Ikorodu, on the issue in a bid to get a fair share from Mrs. Momoh, but that the monarch urged them to accept what she has offered them.
While expressing his own opinion, he said that he and few other members of the family have insisted that the family should hold out for the plots of land instead of allowing her to sell it on their behalf.
“I am one of those who are insisting that we should get the plots of land because the family has already lost most part of the land, and in order not to lose out totally, we should make sure we get part of the land and use it for a legacy project that will keep the name of the family attached to the land”.
He, however, said that the youths in the family want the said plots of land to be sold and the proceed shared among the family members.