By: News Peddlers
Igbanko (Gbanko) residents in the Olorunda Local Council Development Area (LCDA) have asked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene in an alleged invasion of their landed property by members of the Iworo community
News Peddlers gathered that residents of the town were unable to sleep with two eyes closed due to land grabbers' activities in their community.
Mr Samuel Olugbayi, an indigene and landlord in Igbanko, stated that they awoke on Monday morning to find their land surrounded by soldiers and land grabbers.
"To be candid, we have a land dispute with three families in the Iworo community: the Itake, Kasagbemi, and Idelemo families; the case is currently in court. But we are surprised that the king of Iworo, Oba Oladele Kosoko, the Oniworo of Iworo, has sent soldiers and land grabbers to seize our land. I want to assume that this is simply a misuse of power; we have our own king, and I see no reason for another Oba from another entity, another enclave, to come and invade us in these modern times," he said.
Olugbayi urged the state government to intervene and resolve the crisis before it escalated into violence between the two towns.
"We know that Gov. Sanwo-Olu is a responsible and responsive government, and we want him to intervene and correct the irregularities," he stated.
Mr Olufunmi Adeyemi, a 68-year-old town resident, stated that the king of Iworo claimed ownership of all land in Igbanko.
"We are begging the governor to help us appeal to the traditional ruler to leave us alone; we have our own king here," he stated.
Mr Oluwabukola Amore, a youth leader in Igbanko, stated that the land dispute began about 12 years ago with the three Iworo families.
"But we are surprised that the traditional ruler has taken over the issue and forced us to leave our land," he stated.
When contacted, the traditional ruler denied having invaded the town. Kosoko stated that he had more important things to do than to claim another town's landed property.
"I am not sure why people are shouting my name over something I know nothing about. The case is in court, so why should I invade their land? In fact, I am not aware of soldiers invading Igbanko territory," he stated.
The traditional ruler stated that the land dispute was between the Igbanko people and three families from Iworo.
News Peddlers learnt that the king immediately summoned the masterminds of the invasion to his palace.
Mr Moses Ajose stated that their family owns the land and that they have sold the disputed land to Lagos State University Cooperative since 2012.
Ajose stated that they brought soldiers to the land to provide security for workers who were assisting them in cutting the bush.
"The people of Igbanko are troublemakers; they sued us for our father's land. Despite the fact that the land issue is in court, they have continued to sell the land, so we sold it.
"The King of Iworo is unaware of the invasion; he has no involvement in it; in fact, they are simply shouting his name; he is not a member of the family. The land in question belongs to our family, and we have sold it since 2012. We will still go there tomorrow to cut the busy," he said.