Landowners and community residents of Igbokuta/Gberigbe in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State are seeking the help of the State Government and the Nigeria Police Force over the many crimes and atrocious faceoff they have been having with some hoodlums and a notorious land grabber in the area.
According to sources within the community, the leader of the hoodlums is one Kamarudeen Lamina, popularly referred to as Sir K, a notorious land grabber and who has been making life unbearable for them in the area.
It was alleged that Kamarudeen, along with some hoodlums and cultists in the area have for the past years been harassing the landowners in a determined effort to steal their possession from them.
According to Aremu Wahab Ajala-Bello, “the disputed piece of land belongs to Bello Ajala, father to my great grand-father – Wahab Bello Ajala. Bello was the first man to migrate to Igbokuta in 1826. He was a farmer and a great hunter whose farming business transcended to surrounding villages.” “His rights over this piece of land was established though a judgement obtained in 1913 which defines in clear terms his territorial borderline and ownership of the vast area of land.”
“But trouble started in 2006, barely 10 years after the death of my father Wahab Ajala-Bello. Our effort to come and settle down here was met with serious threats and stiff resistance from these hoodlums led by one Akinrele, Sidikat, Selimat, and Basirat, with the help of a notorious warlord Kamarudeen (Sir K), who we realized have started selling our land in our absence. Those people are strangers who are trying to subvert our property for selfish aim but are backed by the king of Imota and King of Bariga. A lot of our ancestral houses have been demolished by these people. Our community is presently under siege and several lives including that of my wife have been lost to this battle.” He stated.
“Residents in this community have been living in fear of attacks, nobody is safe here anymore. Most times, the thugs would surface from nowhere and start shooting sporadically to scare people away. So many victims of their attacks have fled this community for fear of further molestation. Our women are being raped! In fact, we can count at least five complaints from rape victims.” “We call on Nigerians and the Lagos State Government to please help us and save us from the hands of this evil people.” He added.
Findings however reveal that the said Kamarudeen Lamina was in 2017 reported having been arrested and arraigned before a Lagos State Special Court for the act of Land grabbing.
Another resident, with a large fresh scar on his face, explained to our reporter that he sustained a serious injury when some thugs of the said Sir K deliberately rammed their car on him in the early hours of the day.
“I was sent on an errand by my boss early this morning, but while returning on my bike, I spotted a car coming at top speed and facing me, I quickly paused by the side of the road. The car driver initially slowed down too, but all of a sudden, they accelerated and rammed their car on me with full force before speeding off. I spotted the passengers and drivers to be thugs of the dreaded Sir K who has been tormenting us in this community.” He narrated.
According to one Sunday Jatto – the spokesperson of all non-indigenes in Igbokuta, there is no denying the fact that the rightful owner of this place is the Bello Ajala descendants. The Michael Akinrele and Kamarudeen led land grabbers are doing this in other to steal the property from the original owners. They have succeeded in driving a lot of us away from our homes. They even built a shrine where human rituals are performed on one of our properties. We call on the government to please come to our aid on this matter as it is getting out of hand already.”
Another source, Shakiru Olabamidele, a grandson to Wahab Ajala Bello, narrating his experience spoke, “barely two weeks ago, during an event I organized in remembrance of my late mother, I saw Michael Akinrele along with some hoodlums and police officers, shooting directly at me without any reason. That same day, they abducted our family head along with some other members of the family and took everybody to Ikeja before moving them to Abuja. Since then, we have been living in fear of attacks in the area. There were several instances where Sir K’s thugs would deliberately hit us with their car on the road. They even boast that there is nothing we can do to them as they enjoy the support of Lagos State Police Commissioner – Hakeem Odumosu and the king of Imota with one Jimoh Asafa. Nigerians should please come to our aid.”
A resident who spoke on anonymity said the Igbokuta area used to be a very peaceful place before, but people now live in fear of attacks from the hoodlums. He said, “If you move around, you’d notice a lot of homes have been deserted. People are even afraid to speak on the matter in the public for fear of being maimed.”
Efforts to speak with Kamarudeen Lamina on phone proved abortive as several calls made by our reporter were not responded to nor returned.