|
A
few days ago, someone sent me an article on facebook, for publication, but the
evidence were not sufficient, and so i decided to wait a little and carry out
more investigation. The claims were that Edo state governor Adams Oshiomole and
his boys had set out to grab every juicy piece of land he could lay his eyes
on, from the indigents of the state. the article read:
I have been meaning to say one or
two things about this worrisome development but have tried to restrain myself
because the substance of the message can easily be violated and twisted by
mischievous agents of those involved. Just yesterday, one ardent
supporter of Oshiomhole-Tony Daniels capitulated and exploded by accusing
Oshiomhole of fraudulently grabbing the land of a man who has legitimate
ownership. I am surprised that this matter has to come out this way when really
such dubious acquisitions have been THE SCRABBLE FOR CHOICE BENIN LANDS BY
OSHIOMHOLE, SHUAIBU AND APC CHIEFTAINS.
Press
conference between the Traditional Chiefs and party Chieftains of the
PDP to condemn and investigate the action of the governor in the
illegal grabbing of a landed properties, especially those belonging to Prince Ekpen Erediawa in Benin
|
Happening before our eyes but
we fake ignorance. Oshiomhole and his gangs since they came into power have
done nothing but loot funds to acquire prime lands in Benin. They buy from
genuflecting and constrained sellers. They revoke from perceived political
enemies and appropriate to themselves. They use all forms of intimidation and
subterfuge to grab,grab and grab. Recently,they have to extend this nefarious
activity to Federal University of Benin Buildings. They claim the land belongs
to Edo state government and therefore have the right to retrieve,demolish and
re-allocate it to themselves. Honestly,I don't know the extent of the legal
tussle here but however it ends, people should know the following:
(1) That land/buildings were never
Edo state land but were absolute gifts to Uniben by the government of Mid-west.
(2) At the time Bendel was divided
into Edo Delta states,those buildings were no longer listed as assets of Bendel
to be shared between both new states because they have effectively been
disposed. This alienation was done before the land use act when it is
permissible to dispose of realties without the rigors of complex paper works
introduced by the 1978 Land Use Decree. Conduct of parties suffices then.
(3) Directly flowing from above, I
put it to Oshiomhole that he cannot tender valid documents showing evidence
that the Uniben buildings and lands were part of the assets Edo inherited from
Midwest state.
(4) There is no record that Uniben
was ever a tenant to Edo state government. Oshiomhole should show us receipts
for rents. In this case, even if we assume without conceding that Edo state
government retained a lien on those buildings but the doctrine of adverse
possession as enunciated in the old WACA case of Ijie vs Hull and reaffirmed by
our Supreme Court comes in favour of Uniben. They have been on that land for
over 12 years without anybody claiming superior title over the lands. It become
theirs in law.
(5) Now,when you consider
that,Oshiomhole has lawyers which include the AG,then you know that the Uniben
saga was a land grab simpliciter and nothing more.
As I write this, Phillip Shuaibu has
over 5 pending land grab cases in various courts in Benin. And so are many of
the APC chieftains. They are so obsessed with possessing Benin prime lands
that, between them,t hey now own 3/4 of the lands in GRA and other choice
locations in Benin city.
It is not only in Benin they are
doing this, even in all the big towns and local government headquarters in Edo
state. If you doubt me, you can set up a committee to investigate this. The
hepless victims of these land grabs have either been induced into silence with
looted funds or cowed by governmental powers.
This trend is a continuous process
that if unchecked, we will find ourselves in a Zimbabwean situation where only
15% of the population own the entire land of the country. If distribution of
land is not well coordinated, we will regret this.
I want to end this by saying
that Oshiomhole and his cohorts have since exceeded the square meters of land
permitted individuals under the Land Use Act in urban areas. They have broken
the law and must be made to answer for it.
Well, that was the article, and so i
waited. But as we speak, information reaching us now, says there is currently a
press conference on-going in Benin between the Traditional Chiefs and party
Chieftains of the PDP to condemn and investigate the action of the
governor in the illegal grabbing of a landed properties, especially those
belonging to Prince Ekpen Erediawa.
It
has also been revealed that the governor has ordered the demolition of
the said property, as it was in the Uniben case.
we
shall bring you more details as events unfold.
Edo Adams Oshiomole in Fresh land Tussles
Reviewed by getitrightnigerians
on
14:23:00
Rating:
No comments:
Take advantage of our blog traffic and promote your product to millions of viewers.
For advert placements and other Enquiries, kindly send us a mail at getitrightnigerians@gmail.com or call 08025707646, 07031338542
Visit the Play stores to Download our mobile app and stay up -to-date.