Daud Olatunji
Hundreds of residents in the Ajegunle/Araromi community in Makun, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun state found themselves in a state of shock and anger as their homes were demolished by officials of the state government.
The demolition took place on Thursday, and the residents were caught by surprise as bulldozers, accompanied by armed policemen, descended upon their community, reducing their homes to rubble.
The residents, in a state of shock and dismay, expressed their outrage against the state government for not providing any prior notice or compensation before taking such drastic actions.
They alleged that the government had sold their land to a Chinese company for industrial purposes, and this move has left them homeless and without any form of compensation.
Protesters gathered with placards bearing messages such as “Ajegunle, Araromi community must exist, please save our soul,” “Dapo Abiodun, save us, respect court injunction,” and “We have no place to go,” among others. The residents felt abandoned and mistreated by their government.
Oduwole Olusoga, the legal adviser to the community, spoke on behalf of the protesters and lamented the government’s failure to abide by a court injunction that had prohibited them from demolishing the houses.
According to Olusoga, “We have a court injunction refraining the state government from doing this dastardly act that they have taken today.
There is a subsisting court injunction, we served them, we did everything, and there were so many interventions, but despite all, the government went ahead to demolish our houses.”
Furthermore, Olusoga revealed that the Chinese company had been bragging about its influence in the state and its connection to the governor, Dapo Abiodun.
“The Chinese man the government sold our land to has been boasting around; he said he sponsored Dapo Abiodun’s second term election and that there is nothing we have that he will not be able to pull this place down.”
Despite the presence of a court injunction, the government proceeded with the demolition, causing immense damage to the community’s property. “Multimillion investments are being destroyed, look at what they did to our property,” Olusoga lamented.
The residents’ main demand is clear: they want their land back, not compensation. “We have not been compensated.
There was no notification, the government did not notify us before destroying our structures,” Olusoga emphasized.
The community has made several attempts to communicate with the governor’s office and the Bureau of Lands, serving them with the court injunction, but their pleas and legal actions appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
When reached for a reaction, the Director General of the Bureau of Lands and Survey, Segun Fowora, declined to comment, stating that “the government will address the press at an appropriate time.”
The actions of the Ogun state government have caused widespread outrage and raised concerns about property rights, government transparency, and the well-being of the residents in the affected community.
The residents remain determined to fight for their land and justice, even in the face of this devastating demolition.
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