A few days ago, someone sent me an article on facebook, for publication, but the evidence were not sufficient, and so i decided to wait a little and carry out more investigation. The claims were that Edo state governor Adams Oshiomole and his boys had set out to grab every juicy piece of land he could lay his eyes on, from the indigents of the state. the article read:
I have been meaning to say one or two things about this worrisome development but have tried to restrain myself because the substance of the message can easily be violated and twisted by mischievous agents of those involved. Just yesterday, one ardent supporter of Oshiomhole-Tony Daniels capitulated and exploded by accusing Oshiomhole of fraudulently grabbing the land of a man who has legitimate ownership. I am surprised that this matter has to come out this way when really such dubious acquisitions have been THE SCRABBLE FOR CHOICE BENIN LANDS BY OSHIOMHOLE, SHUAIBU AND APC CHIEFTAINS.
Happening before our eyes but we fake ignorance. Oshiomhole and his gangs since they came into power have done nothing but loot funds to acquire prime lands in Benin. They buy from genuflecting and constrained sellers. They revoke from perceived political enemies and appropriate to themselves. They use all forms of intimidation and subterfuge to grab,grab and grab. Recently,they have to extend this nefarious activity to Federal University of Benin Buildings. They claim the land belongs to Edo state government and therefore have the right to retrieve,demolish and re-allocate it to themselves. Honestly,I don't know the extent of the legal tussle here but however it ends, people should know the following:
(1) That land/buildings were never Edo state land but were absolute gifts to Uniben by the government of Mid-west.
(2) At the time Bendel was divided into Edo Delta states,those buildings were no longer listed as assets of Bendel to be shared between both new states because they have effectively been disposed. This alienation was done before the land use act when it is permissible to dispose of realties without the rigors of complex paper works introduced by the 1978 Land Use Decree. Conduct of parties suffices then.
(3) Directly flowing from above, I put it to Oshiomhole that he cannot tender valid documents showing evidence that the Uniben buildings and lands were part of the assets Edo inherited from Midwest state.
(4) There is no record that Uniben was ever a tenant to Edo state government. Oshiomhole should show us receipts for rents. In this case, even if we assume without conceding that Edo state government retained a lien on those buildings but the doctrine of adverse possession as enunciated in the old WACA case of Ijie vs Hull and reaffirmed by our Supreme Court comes in favour of Uniben. They have been on that land for over 12 years without anybody claiming superior title over the lands. It become theirs in law.
(5) Now,when you consider that,Oshiomhole has lawyers which include the AG,then you know that the Uniben saga was a land grab simpliciter and nothing more.
As I write this, Phillip Shuaibu has over 5 pending land grab cases in various courts in Benin. And so are many of the APC chieftains. They are so obsessed with possessing Benin prime lands that, between them,t hey now own 3/4 of the lands in GRA and other choice locations in Benin city.
It is not only in Benin they are doing this, even in all the big towns and local government headquarters in Edo state. If you doubt me, you can set up a committee to investigate this. The hepless victims of these land grabs have either been induced into silence with looted funds or cowed by governmental powers.
This trend is a continuous process that if unchecked, we will find ourselves in a Zimbabwean situation where only 15% of the population own the entire land of the country. If distribution of land is not well coordinated, we will regret this.
I want to end this by saying that Oshiomhole and his cohorts have since exceeded the square meters of land permitted individuals under the Land Use Act in urban areas. They have broken the law and must be made to answer for it.
Well, that was the article, and so i waited. But as we speak, information reaching us now, says there is currently a press conference on-going in Benin between the Traditional Chiefs and party Chieftains of the PDP to condemn and investigate the action of the governor in the illegal grabbing of a landed properties, especially those belonging to the crown Prince, Ekpen Erediawa.
It has also been revealed that the governor has ordered the demolition of the said property, as it was in the Uniben case.
we shall bring you more details as events unfold.
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