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A fresh controversy has erupted over a disputed parcel of land in Ikorodu, Lagos State, as a representative of the family of late Nigerian statesman Otunba T.O.S Benson accused government officials of allegedly colluding with suspected land grabbers to issue forged documents to sell land belonging to the family to unsuspecting members of the public.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Prince Mikail Ayeni alleged that the officials issued fake documents on a land already covered by registered conveyances dating back to 1975 and 1976.
“The two registered conveyances of the late Otunba T.O.S Benson are intact at the Lagos State Land Registry,” Ayeni said. “They have not been revoked. So how can a C of O be issued on another person’s registered conveyance?”
The land, measuring approximately 55 acres, is located at Ibelefun, Amojo village, Ibeshe Road, Ikorodu.
Ayeni explained that the late Benson obtained the two registered conveyances on the land years before the C of O system was introduced.
“Registered conveyance was the real title relied upon in those days; unless it is revoked, no other title can stand on it,” he stated.
Ayeni alleged that suspected land grabbers forcibly encroached on the property, demolishing perimeter fencing and removing gates and materials.
“When we got there, we discovered that the fence erected by the late Benson had been demolished. The gates were removed, and materials were carted away. A security guard was also beaten into a coma,” he said.
The matter was reported to the Ipakodo Police Division and later escalated to the State Criminal Investigations Department, Panti, Yaba, the Lagos State Police Command, the Zone 2 Command, and the Force headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force.
According to Ayeni, some members of the public have since been building on the land.
“When we challenged them, they told us that they had a C of O from the Lagos State Government. But the gazette they are parading speaks of another location entirely in Ebute, Ipakodo and not Ibelefun – Amojo, Ibeshe,” he said.
He referenced a February 12, 2014, report by the Lagos State Public Advice Centre, which he said was confirmed in a report on May 5, 2015, by former state Solicitor-General, Lawal Pedro, and forwarded to the force headquarters.
“The reports revealed clearly that the gazette being relied upon to issue the fake C of Os on the late T.O.S Benson’s land in Ibeshe was for another location in Ebute,” Ayeni said.
An excerpt of the Public Advice Centre report stated that the 1979 Lagos State Government Official Gazette referenced a property “along the beach at Ebute in Ikorodu, containing an area of approximately 40.01 hectares,” which differs from the Benson property situated at Ibeshe.
Another report dated February 27, 2015, from the Lands Bureau under the Governor’s office and signed on behalf of the Registrar of Titles, confirmed that “Deed of Conveyance No. 48/48/1495 and No. 81/81/1540 are registered in the name of Chief Theophilus Owolabi Shobowale Benson in respect of land at Ibeshe, Ikorodu.”
Certified true copies of the conveyances and reports were sighted by this reporter.
Despite these documents, Ayeni alleged that construction has continued on the land notwithstanding an interlocutory injunction granted on December 17, 2015, by Justice M.A. Savage of the Ikorodu High Court, restraining parties from further development pending the determination of a substantive suit.
“If the government acquires land, they must show who they acquired it from. Where is the letter of acquisition? Where is the letter of revocation? There is nothing like that here,” Ayeni said.
He warned prospective buyers to exercise caution.
“If the judgment leads to demolition, protests will not stop enforcement,” he said, cautioning against individuals allegedly selling land they do not own under the guise of government authority.
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