Land dispute: Court Rules Against Ogun Traditional Ruler

An Ogun State High Court, sitting in Sagamu, in Sagamu local government area of the State has set aside the execution of an earlier judgment of the court which ceded over 4,500 hectares of land belonging to about 14 Sagamu communities to Oso-Edu family represented by Oniraniken of Iraniken, Sagamu, Oba Adewale Adeniji, Chief Nurudeen Sanni as well as Prince Segun Ogunkoya.

Oba Adewale Adeniji and others in a suit marked HCS/27/2015 had taken possession of the said land citing, a court judgement delivered by Justice A. A Babawale on April 18, 2018.

Some of the affected communities are Okerala, Igbo Iwaju, Torogun, Simawa, Ajebo, Ewu Ogundipe, Ewu Ololo, Alahun, Apena Seriki, Erungben among others.

Fasasi Tiamiyu, Olalekan Sulaimon, Saula Oseni and others however, in June of 2020 filed an application before the High Court demanding among other reliefs an order setting aside the execution of the April 18, 2018 judgement.

Tiamiyu and others in the Certified True Copies of the judgement sighted by our Correspondent, said that they were not parties to the suit leading to the award of the judgement until they got to know about the judgement and subsequent execution.

The applicants equally among other things said that the claimants led by the traditional ruler were not known to the communities who own the hectares of land, describing them as land grabbers.

Justice Tajudeen Okunsokan while delivering his judgment dismissed the respondents’ objection to the suit on the ground that the applicants lacked the locus standi, saying that the affidavits deposed to in support of the application evidently established that the applicants have what it takes to institute the court action.

Justice Okunsokan among other things also held that in as much as the facts of the application have supported that the applicants were not privy or part of the suit leading to the earlier judgment on the land, the action is not binding on the applicants.

Quoting relevant authorities, he said “the judgement in suit No HCS/27/2015 is therefore binding on the parties thereto and their privies alone and as such not binding on the applicants for which reason it should not have been enforced on the parcels of land in possession of the applicant”.

Justice Okunsokan thereafter set aside the execution of the judgement delivered on April 18, 2018 levied on the applicants’ communities land and residences