Lagos land dispute: Developer debunks police allegations

Michael Olumide

A Lagos real estate developer, Engineer Akeem Abiodun Ariori, has vehemently denied allegations of being a land grabber, following a police declaration that he’s wanted over a deadly land dispute in Owode-Onirin.

Ariori claimed he’s being framed in a long-standing tussle over land ownership, and that the violence was initiated by “hoodlums” resisting eviction from the disputed land.

According to his media aide, Comrade Ogungbade Olawale, the police said that the clash broke out on August 27 between traders and alleged land grabbers at Kilometre 13, Owode-Onirin.

Three people sustained fatal injuries, and a police inspector was seriously injured.

The police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said preliminary investigations linked Ariori to the incident.

However, Ariori has denied the allegations, claiming he is being framed in a long-running tussle over ownership of the land.

Ariori said he is acting as a legal representative and developer for the Olowu family, who have been the lawful owners of the land since 1954.

The Olowu family has defended their rights through three separate court cases – in 1994, 2010, and 2019 – all of which confirmed them as the rightful owners against the Agbajowo Scraps Dealers Association.

Ariori further said he has secured all the necessary approvals from the Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Office of the Attorney-General.

The disputed cause of the violence is at the center of the controversy.

The violence was initiated by “hoodlums” resisting eviction from land they had been occupying illegally.

The aide claimed that the hoodlums had attacked the property, disarmed a police officer, and damaged construction materials on multiple occasions.

Ariori’s team accused the Agbajowo Scraps Dealers Association of trying to tarnish his reputation and mislead authorities.

They claimed that the association is doing everything in its power to frame him as a culprit to create an excuse for their illegal activities.

The police, however, have detained four officers allegedly engaged by Ariori for “going on illegal duty” with him.

The Lagos State Police Command has vowed to bring Ariori to justice, and the case is ongoing.