Fayemi's Aide Faults Sahara Report On Land Grabbing, Threatens Court Action

A former governorship aspirant under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), now Special Adviser to Ekiti State Governor on Social Investment, Victor Olumuyiwa Kolade, has faulted a one-sided report by Sahara Reporters linking him with a land grabbing scandal in Lagos State, vowing to challenge the alleged libel in court.

In an interview with Fountain Newsbreaker, the Efon Alaaye born lawyer-turned politician wondered why Omoyele Sowore's Sahara Reporters "would throw professionalism into a waste bin by writing such an unfounded story" against him without hearing his own side or seeking police angle to an unconfirmed allegation.

The said online news, in its usual controversial style of not hearing from the other side, had accused Victor Kolade, popularly known as VOK, as using Inspector General of Police Special Unit for land grabbing in Lagos State.

In his response, Kolade described the report as a a calculated attempt to drag his good name  and that of his principal, Governor Kayode Fayemi, in the mud clarifying that "the land issue being referred to in the malicious report had been settled by the judgement of competent courts" in his client’s favour.

According to him, his client known as the  Ogbeni Family in Akodo community of Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, armed with relevant documents on the matter, had approached him in 2006 concerning a landed  property acquired by the government of Lagos State .

In his words, VOK said;  ”Let me say that the allegation is baseless and false from the top to the bottom. I am a lawyer and I have been involved in litigations for over 30 years. It all started in 2005 when a family known as Ogbeni Family in the Akodo community approached me and said that their forefathers were the first settlers in the community and by virtue of that they are the customary landowners in Akodo. When Lagos State acquired the land and decided to return the land, it was returned to the community. This act of the Lagos State Government was wrong because the land should have been given back to the original owner and not the community.

“So, in 2006 we took the matter to  court and we did legal fireworks for eight years and I got  judgement in favour of my client( Ogbeni Family)  in September 2014.The  community  later appealed the judgement and  in 2017, the appellate court also  ruled in favour of my client. 

“After the appeal court judgement, we made attempt  to execute the judgement by engaging the Police and the court bailiffs,  but  the community barricaded the roads and we could not have access to the land .The community  also attacked the Police and burnt one Police Van   and damaged another during the ensuing melee .

”I left Lagos for Ekiti State in 2017 for political activities .After I had left, Ogbeni Family engaged another counsel who wrote a petition against the community to the Police for their atrocities when the above execution was to be carried out .It was when the  Police came for the arrest of  the masterminds of the attack and those  who prevented them from effecting the court order that a pointer, Wale Kaleijaye was abducted and taken away by the community. Kalejaiye who was declared missing for days, was later found dead by Police officers as reported by Punch Newspapers on Febuary 8, 2021.The Punch had earlier reported the attack on  the cops and killing of Kalejaiye in the edition of Febuary 4,2021.

He said further, ”before all these incidents and before I left Lagos in 2017, the community had  approached the Lagos State Ministry of Trade and Commerce urging the officials of the ministry to appeal to us to cede back some acres of land to them after  the two judgements in my client’s favour.The ministry got in contact with me  and held  series of meetings involving parties in the dispute . The ministry officials   prevailed on us to share part of the land to the community for  peace to reign and we agreed.

“The  community went further to dictate the sharing formula by insisting that they would hold on to  parcel A exclusively for themselves,while they  give us only 55 percent of parcel B.

"In essence, the community held on to parcel A exclusively and 45 percent of parcel B despite two  superior court judgments against them. 

“After this ,we commissioned the surveyors to delineate the land,which they did and we headed back  to court to ratify the final agreement which was entered as terms of settlement and judgments between parties on March,28,2019

“If I had known the Inspector General of Police and the Policemen in the Special Unit of the IG,why do  I need to enter into a long  litigation spanning over 15 years.”

Faulting the logicality of the story, Kolade queried, "Why do I need to concede larger percentage of the land to the  community when we already got two   judgements from  courts against them?. If I’m not a peaceful person, why do l need to sit down with them to discuss settlement after two judgments against them. Mark you ,what I conceded to the community in terms of Naira and Kobo cannot be less than N500million .”he lamented 

"The community and their helpers knew that they have a case to answer over the death of Kalejaiye and that is why they went into blackmailing and arm-twisting.

"They think if they blackmail me or Governor Kayode Fayemi, I will quickly call them for negotiation and settlement. They have missed the point. 

"Meanwhile, Saharareporters and I will sort it out in court. I have asked my lawyers to do the needful.