By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
The long arm of the law has eventually caught up with a Lagos based notorious land grabber, said to be a specialist in forcefully dispossessing land owners of their property, following his arrest by operatives of the Lagos State Taskforce.
Identified as Saheed Abdulahi, popularly known as’Ibile’, the suspect was said to have been arrested following series of complaints and petitions to police authorities by residents, communities and landowners over his nefarious activities.
He was alleged to have sometime in July 2023, invaded a certain portion of land in Oke-Ogun area of Epe with some armed thugs, dislodged the workers on the site, blindfolded and stripped them naked, including subjecting them to other barbaric treatment.
The Director, Press and Public Affairs Unit of the Lagos State Taskforce Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, in a release on Monday, said the suspect was arrested in the early hours of Sunday and was coordinated by the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye.
According to him, the suspect is well known for his barbaric type of criminal activity and he has been doing it for quite a while, but luck ran out on him.
The statement reads, ” Operatives of the Lagos State Taskforce have apprehended a notorious Land grabber, one Saheed Abdulahi also known as ‘Ibile’ who operates in Ibeju-Lekki and Epe axis of the state after a series of complaints and petitions were written to police authorities by residents,communities and landowners.
” The arrest which was made in the early hours of yesterday was coordinated by the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye after he had received series of complaints and petitions written to police authorities by residents, communities and land owners about Ibile’s high degree of beastiality and crude manner of operation when trying to dislodge legal occupants from their legitimate property.
” Speaking at the Headquarters of the Agency, Jejeloye described Ibile as a repugnant entity not worthy of being in real estate business, talk more of evicting property owners unlawfully from their hard earned landed property.
“He is well known for this type of criminal activity and he has been doing it for quite a while but luck ran out on him on the 8th of July 2023 when he swooped in on a certain portion of land in Oke-Ogun area of Epe with some armed thugs in order to dislodge workers who were carrying out construction works on the land. He rounded up everyone present and dehumanized them by blindfolding them and stripping them naked just to cow them into fear and submission.”
Jejeloye further disclosed that the after stripping the workers naked, Ibile loaded them on a bus and drove them down to an undisclosed location where he further subjected them to more barbaric treatment not fit for print.
“It is quite appaling that with the level of development and enlightenment in a Metropolis like this, we still have people like Ibile who feel they can take laws into their hands by unlawfully arresting people, torture them and then take over their land. It is preposterous and unbelieveable. We took it upon ourselves to get to the root of this matter and have arrested the main culprit who orchestrated the whole excercise. Going by his utterances, he believes he can bribe his way out of every situation but this time around, he will be prosecuted and made to answer for his crimes.”
Jejeloye assured the good people of Lagos and workers who were made to go through such cruel experience that the Agency would leave no stone unturned till all other culprits who were involved in the activity of the 8th July are rounded up and made to answer for their heinous crimes.
He sounded a note of warning to all grabbers or intending Land grabbers in the State to either relocate from the metropolis or turn over a new leaf. Defying such warnings means he risks being prosecuted. “The days of every land grabber is numbered and i appeal to all Lagosians experiencing any activity that has the semblance of land grabbing in their vincinity to report such to the Agency. Together we will stamp out this menace of Land grabbing in Lagos”. He concluded.
Meanwhile the suspect has been charged to court and court has ruled that he be remanded at Badagry Correctional Centre until he meets his bail conditions.
Consequently, the Chairman reiterated the Agency will continually key into the THEMES PLUS agenda of the State Government on the Lagos State Property Protection Law of 2016 in order to discourage any land grabbing occurrence in the State.
