In the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, a violent land war is taking place, putting a 64-year-old lady against a monarch in a dispute that has brought to light long-standing concerns of property ownership in the state. Babatunde Titilola reports.
Mrs Olaitan Ogunseye and her husband had no idea that the purchase of a block of property from the royal family of Mushade Odugate of the Majolagbe Family in Ikorodu, Lagos State, in 2000 would be fraught with tragic difficulties.
According to records obtained by this reporter, the 64-year-old widow purchased the land on Chris Aghanenu Street, Eyita, in the Ikorodu Local Government Area of the state from one of the monarch’s relatives in 2000, with comprehensive documentation and a receipt.
The receipt, dated May 5, 2000, was jointly signed by Haruna Saka, Sita Saka, Lasisi Saka, and Kehinde Saka. Unfortunately, Ogunseye’s dreams of creating her family’s ideal home were dashed when she was stricken with an ailment that required some time to recuperate from. She left Nigeria to seek better treatment elsewhere, devoting money, time, and energy to the traumatic ordeal.
When she finally started building on the land in 2007, her health failed her again. However, this time, she was determined to overcome all health problems in order to finish her dream home.
From one problem to another
Not long after Ogunseye began splitting her money between paying for medical treatments and buying a house, she received more sad news.
She stated, “We began construction in 2007.” When the construction reached the lintel phase, I experienced another health issue. It was a horrible experience, but I survived. After overcoming the medical hurdles, I returned to the site to finish the construction.
“I purchased all of the materials necessary to finish the house. Some boys approached me one day and stated they would not let me or anybody else to work on the property.”
She explained that the hoodlums directed her to the palace to meet with the Eletu of Oke-Eletu, Chief Adeniyi Ajayi, the current leader of the Mushade Odugate Royal House, to address any land disputes before she could continue construction.
Ogunseye, astonished by the development, approached the monarch, but was met with an even more surprising reception.
“He (the monarch) said he would kill us and any other person he sees on the land,” she told me.
This, according to her, was the start of another war with no end in sight. She was about to lose not just the land, but also the money, time, and energy she and her husband had invested to build the house on it.
N2.5 million compensation for building demolition.
Continuing her account, Ogunseye stated that all attempts to appeal to the monarch at his palace were futile, and she fled with the worry that she had lost everything.
She continued, “It was when we got outside of the palace that one of the monarch’s boys saw my condition and told us to beg the monarch with N2.5m,” she said, her voice reflecting the misery she had gone through.
“I told the man I’d bring N1 million to the palace so we could plead with the monarch, but he refused, claiming the queen had previously seen someone willing to pay N10 million for the land.
“The following time I went to the palace with other family members to petition the monarch, he chased me out. But my relatives and his subordinates remained behind to beg him. He later agreed and stated that he would respond two weeks later.
“We didn’t hear anything from him again. We called him but he did not pick up. So, we had to go to his palace again. There, he told us that once he was done with what he was doing on my property, he would give us another land.”
Ogunseye told Sunday PUNCH that by the time she was able to come up with the N2.5m to appease the monarch, the building had already been demolished and the land sold to another person.
She said, “We later called the monarch’s subordinate about the money, but he said there was nothing he could do again. So, I went to my site. On getting there, I saw loads of blocks on my site. I was told the blocks belonged to the people he (the monarch) sold my land to. The second time I went there, I observed that they had dug holes to fence my property.
“When I saw what was happening on my property, I met with other leaders in the community to help me appeal to the king not to take my land. They did, and he promised to work things out. A few days later, my building was demolished, and they started erecting another structure on my property.”
Cry for justice
Left helpless, Ogunseye decided to seek the intervention of a third-party.
In a petition dated July 30, 2024, which Sunday PUNCH obtained, the Ogunseye family appealed to state Commissioners for Justice, Lawal Pedro, and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bolaji Robert, and urged the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, and the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to protect their land and ensure the safety of their daughter.
A part of the petition read, “Sometimes, in July 2024, Olaitan Ogunseye was invited by Ajayi (the monarch) through his emissary, Kazeem Kolawole (Baale Aja), to ratify her ownership by paying the sum of N2.5m after failing to pay the initial ratification fee of N400,000.”
In another petition signed by Ogunseye’s lawyer, Tomilola Adeniji, she asked the authorities to protect her from “the land-grabbing Ajayi and his hired thugs and assailants,” while demanding “protection of Ogunseye’s property and compensation for the demolished property.”