Ogun Unveils Fraudulent Court Ruling in Land Dispute

The Ogun State Ministry of Justice has cautioned the general public about the actions of landgrabbers operating on lands acquired by the government in the Odogbolu Local Government Area within the state.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade SAN, in a statement on Thursday, stated that the Ministry of Justice had uncovered a “fraudulent and improperly-obtained Customary Court judgement”, with which the alleged land grabbers intend to use in deceiving members of the public.

Ogungbade said that the ministry had few months ago received a petition from persons representing lineages and descendants of one Oba Alli Ogunnaike Fibiwoga (“Fibiwoga Family”).

He explained that the family claimed that they were properly adjudged owners of a family land within Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, but were being disturbed from possessing the land by violent trespassers. They also presented a survey plan showing their 350-acre land.

Ogungbade said, “Further investigation of the complaints and scrutiny of the documents provided by these complainants showed that the land in question actually is government land.

Additionally, two significant plots belonging to Ogun State University are situated in different areas of this land, with various other allocations made by the state government present in other sections.

The total area claimed by the Fibiwoga Family is under government acquisition and overlaps with land occupied by the government.

The commissioner stated that the ruling from the Customary Court was achieved through fraudulent and improper means. This occurred because the individuals who filed complaints with that court were aware that they did not own the property yet pursued legal action anyway. They also excluded the State Government, which had a clear stake in the land.

The statement also noted that none of the listed defendants were notified about the lawsuit. Interestingly, both the trial and the judgment took place on the same day, once more without informing the listed defendants.

Ogungbade explained further, “The judgment that Fibiwoga Family obtained never described the land awarded to Fibiwoga Family and the plaintiffs in that case did not plead a survey plan before the Customary Court. In the reliefs it granted, the Customary Court never referred to the survey plan

“Fibiwoga Family did not even mention the size of their land in all documents filed in court. It was only after the judgment had been delivered that Fibiwoga Family tied its current survey plan to the judgment of the customary court. That survey plan was never the basis of the orders granted by the Customary Court, and cannot be the basis of any execution today.”

He revealed that the Fibiwoga family is currently acting through a self-styled developer Obatob Properties Limited, now advertising this allegedly fraudulently occupied land as available to the public for use as a residential estate.

Ogungbade emphasized, "Given the aforementioned points, the Ministry of Justice is initiating actions to overturn the ruling under which the Fibiwoga Family (along with Obatob Properties Limited) is falsely asserting their claims."

It highlighted that even if the ruling wasn’t overturned, members of the public ought to be critical thinkers who can scrutinize the decision and inquire from those dubious sellers about which part of the ruling describes the property currently up for sale or offered for sale today.

Therefore, the general public is informed that the assertions made by the Fibiwoga Family regarding their ownership of 350 acres of land along Lagos Road, Apere Oba through Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, are deemed to be false, deceptive, and without foundation.

Similarly, Obatob Properties Limited does not possess any land for development, allocation, distribution, or management in the specified region.

“Any person who deals with either entity or any other private person regarding the land does so at their own peril, and at the risk of a firm government response.”

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