A Lagos family, Edu Descendants, has denied that a resettled community in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State was attacked by soldiers.
The family also stated that it sold the large expanse of land in dispute to the Nigerian Army.
PUNCH Metro had reported that the Abomiti Zone Community Development Association alleged that land grabbers connived with some members of the Nigerian Army to take over the land given to them by the Lagos State Government.
The community’s ancestral land was reportedly taken for the establishment of the Lekki Free Trade Zone by the state government.
The group had said about 30 of the 239 hectares allotted to them in Ilamiga as compensation was taken over by the Army, adding that some soldiers were deployed to attack them when they resisted the move.
However, the Head of the Edu Family, Chief Shamusideen Edu, in a statement on Monday, denied the claims.
The statement read in part, “The land occupied by the Nigerian Army at Oko Baale Edu, Ilamiga, forms part of the 100.67 hectares described in Plan no LS/D/EP114 originally owned by the Edu Descendants Family of Epe, Lagos State.
“Our family title is derived from our traditional/customary right of ownership to the entire land in that our family was the first to settle and subsequently own the land from time immemorial.
“That our family is further reinforced by the Certificate of Occupancy dated 16th July 1993 and registered as AG/1/1/1993 covering the Baale Edu Descendant Cooperative Land.”
The family accused the Abomiti community of being economical with the truth regarding the landed property.
“The army is in lawful occupation of a part of our land through us and not through any land grabber and in fact, the army has been in active possession of the land since 2020.
“The so-called Abomiti Community Development Association are strangers to our land and they have never at any time resided on our family land,” the statement added.
But counsel for the resettled community, Olanrewaju Aiyedun, said the state government granted the Edu family a certificate of occupancy for agricultural purposes, which had expired.
“They applied for its renewal, but the Lagos State Government refused to renew it, because they told them they had re-allocated the land to the community. The state government granted the Abomiti community a certificate of occupancy on the land,” he added.
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