BY JANE OSAMOR
A land grabber, popularly known as Mojeed Solabi, has been accused of invading Adumbu community in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State with over 50 thugs, injuring two people and beating up the village head to stupor.
Solabi, a notorious land grabber, was said to have invaded the town with thugs armed with dangerous weapons including cutlass, broken bottles, axes, chasing people away from their homes and ancestral lands in the community.
Residents of the community in a “Save Our Letter” dated January 27, 2023, to the state police command titled “Case of Conspiracy Threat To Life and Invasion of Adumbu Village By Land Grabbers: Mojeed Solabi, Abdullahi Solabi, Muda Kudaisi and Folarin Osho”, jointly signed by an elder in the village, Dr. Dele Onatade and the Secretary, Chief Ranti Falola asked the police to come to their rescue.
They alleged that Solabi and his cohorts through the backing of one Mutairu Owoeye, have been terrorizing and threatening the peace of the community since February 2013 when they invaded the village and sacked the entire community including the late Village Head, Chief Olalekan Ogunjobi over 4000 hectares of land.
The residents said that Solabi was declared wanted by the police that year but ran away and resurfaced this year to start his land grabbing activities by first trying to take over the possession of seven acres of land meant to build primary school for the community and later claiming the possession of other people’s lands.
Efforts by the Village Head of the Community, Chief Kayode Falola to restore peace was thwarted by Solabi when he allegedly led his thugs to the Village Head block industry, beat him to stupor and arrested him with some policemen allegedly from Zone 2, Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos.
Falola said that Solabi also went with his thugs to attack the Secretary of the village, Chief Ranti Falola, at his house, manhandled him and tore his cloth before they dragged him into the same police vehicle they put him in and drove both of them off to their station in zone 2, Onikan, Lagos.
He alleged that the duo of Saula Sobogun and Riliwon Adegbayo were beaten and inflicted with machete cuts on their bodies by Solabi and his accomplices.
The Village Head said the thugs came to the working place of Sobogun and descended on him heavily inflicting machete cuts on him and left him in coma before some good Samaritans in the village rescued him and took him to the hospital.
Falola explained that Adegbayo went out to buy something in the community and the thugs saw him and accused him of being one of his supporters, they also descended on him and beat him up with planks inflicting injuries in some parts of his body.
He noted that he had reported the case to the Olu of Itori, Oba Akorede Akamo, but was yet to see any meaningful results as Solabi’s thugs continue to disrupt the peace of the community. They are now appealing to the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to rescue the community from the land grabbers.
The Village Head said, “Mojeed Solabi led some thugs numbering about 50 to my block industry in the morning and asked them to beat me. They beat me mercilessly and accusing me of selling Solabi’s ancestral family land. He also brought some police men from Zone 2, Onikan Lagos who hand cuffed me and dragged me into their vehicle.
“They later went to the house of the Secretary of Adumbu village, Chief Ranti Falola, manhandled him and tore his cloth, and dragged him into the police vehicle and drove us to their police station in Zone 2, Lagos.
“They punished me so much at the station and I spent two days at the station without food or water and was not able to brush my teeth, they later released me the third third day after paying N500,000. I was later taken to the court where I was granted a bail in some of N250,000”.
But, the alleged land grabber, Solabi, while reacting, said, “I didn’t lead any thugs to Adumbu village. They are lying against me, as I’m speaking with you now, I am being held at Ibara prison over allegation that I killed somebody”.
