A dramatic controversy has erupted in Ogun State after the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade (SAN), was accused of undermining the authority of the judiciary by allegedly overruling decisions of the state’s Customary Court of Appeal and proceeding to intervene in a contentious land dispute still pending before the Court of Appeal in Ibadan.
The case involves the family of the late Oba Alli Ogunnaike Fibiwoga in Odogbolu Local Government Area and a group of alleged land grabbers led by one Sir Kay Oluwo, from Ikorodu.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the dispute centres around over 60 hectares of ancestral land, a significant portion of which was reportedly sold to a real estate firm, Messrs. Obatob Properties Ltd.
It was further gathered that the land in question had been the subject of a lawsuit that was decided in favour of the Fibiwoga family by the Ogun State Customary Court in October 2021.
The ruling was subsequently affirmed by the Ogun State Customary Court of Appeal in July 2024.
The matter is currently awaiting determination at the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division under Appeal No: CA/IB/247/2024.
In a strongly-worded statement signed by the head of the Fibiwoga family, Prince Moshood Salami, the family alleged that the Attorney General “assumed the role of an appellate court” when he summoned them to a meeting on February 20, 2025, and directed both parties to return to the land and continue their businesses—despite subsisting court judgments and restraining orders.
According to the statement, the family was misled into attending what they believed was a conflict-resolution meeting, only to discover it was a press conference during which the Attorney General addressed the media and walked out, allegedly without hearing their side of the story.
“The Attorney General relayed only his favourable part of the story to the press and immediately stormed out of the meeting with no regard whatsoever to questioning from our part,” the family stated.
They described the AG’s actions as a “dangerous precedent” that not only disrespected court rulings but also posed a serious risk to their lives and those of buyers like Obatob Properties, who are attempting to enforce legal possession of the land.
Salami said the family had written a cautionary letter dated February 24, 2025, through their solicitors, PalmStars Solicitors, advising the Attorney General to refrain from actions that could clash with the judiciary or reduce their legal victory to a mere formality.
Rather than backtrack, the AG was said to have doubled down on his position at another press conference on April 3, where he allegedly made disparaging comments about the family, the courts, and Obatob Properties Ltd.
“This decision that we verily believe will put the lives of our family members and others claiming through us in danger caused us to write the letter… advising his esteemed office on the need to limit himself to his constitutionally assigned duties,” the family noted.
The Fibiwoga family insists that they obtained the 2021 judgment through due process, and that all parties were duly served throughout the litigation.
They claim to have historical possession of the land, which is reportedly free from government acquisition, with surveys approved by the Surveyor General of Ogun State confirming that at least 40 hectares are not under any encumbrance.
Despite what they described as ongoing harassment by land grabbers, the family reiterated their belief in the judicial system and vowed to defend their ancestral land through legal means.
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