Iro Community Calls Ogun CP's Intervention Over Indiscriminate Road Blockage To 200 Businesses

By Ugwu Joe

Community members of Iro Town in the Owode Obafemi Local Government Area of Ogun State has lamented the blockage of a key economic road to over 200 Sand excavation sites, Farmlands, Companies, Villages, Fishing places and Houses of hapless indigenes of Iro.

In a peaceful protest by the affected people covered by DAILY INDEPENDENT on Wednesday, the people complained bitterly over what they claimed to be a great injustice against the peace loving people of Odo-Yepe area of Iro Town.

According to Chief Mohammed Aro, Chairman of Awodi Oke Community which is part of the affected community alleged that, "Alhaji Tajudeen Abioye, bought 200 plots of land from Shittu Toriola at the entrance point into our Community and he decided to fence the land leading into the community, though we heard from the grapevine he is trying to do that, but we warned him against it yet he did not heed to us but erected the fence.

"The most annoying was his approach to making the fence which was carried out in the night which he partially succeeded in doing until we were suddenly notified at about 1am on Tuesday 17, December by Vigilante officials patrolling the community about the fence being built to block us from having access to our places, before our wives rose up from bed to confront them and destroyed part of the fence erected on the road." Aro added.

Corroborating the allegation, Hon. Bililiaminu Mojeed, a resident of Mapa, one of the affected Villages, said, "I was born here but left for career reasons afterwards returned since 1986 and this is the road we've being using to and fro, aside my village there are farm settlements, Companies and other businesses as proceed from here."

Mrs Mary Imasuen said she bought 2 plots in 2021 from the family of Aliu Olusunmade a.k.a Baba Gazette, the land owners and was given a family receipt and other documents, saying "since buying the land I used it for displaying and selling items with plans to build a befitting structure anytime soon, but it's part of the land sold to Alhaji Tajudeen and now fenced."

Kubiratu Wahab, one of the women who accosted the fence builders narrated how they stopped the fence builders at night, "we were woken by the alert of Vigilante officials who informed us of a fence being built nocturnally by a group of people on the road leading to their Community and would want to hear from them why the road is being built. Myself and other 20 women rushed to the scene and we had to push down part of the fence blocking the road into our community."

The community is a plea during the peaceful protest called on the Local Government Chairman of Owode Obafemi, the newly appointed Ogun State Police Commissioner and Governor Dapo Abiodun to please come to their aid and to rescue them from Alhaji Tajudeen Abioye and stop him blocking the access to their livelihoods.

In response to these allegations, Alhaji Tajudeen Abioye said, "the community were unfortunately misrepresenting the facts and distorting the truth, stressing that the 15 plots of land in question was legally acquired after several years of showing interest to buy it but was denied till recently. And I got all the necessary papers in respect to it.

"The so called road was never the statutory road, there are two other ones, until it was paved by the contracting firm handling the Papa to Shagamu Interchange Highway some few months back, paving the shift from the original road to the sites and other places in the area, moreover the temporary road is part of the land contained in the survey design sold to me.

"As a dredger, anytime I buy a dredging site, I'll fence it, building infrastructures for workers, security personnel, dredging equipments and other administrative offices.

"To ensure that peace reign between me and these community members I have decided to help them construct one of the alternate road, including the construction of a Culvert to make it motorable, moreso the allegation that there are over 200 businesses and settlements in the area is also not correct" Alhaji Tajudeen said.