In the heart of Ibadan, Oyo State, where the red dust of progress often clashes with the deep roots of ownership, a quiet storm is brewing over a patch of earth in the Oluyole Local Government Area.
For Adeshina Azeez, what began as a vision for a thriving hotel investment has transformed into a desperate struggle against the very institutions meant to protect property rights.
Azeez has now turned to the highest office in the state, appealing to Gov Seyi Makinde, civil society organizations, and the court of public opinion to intervene in what he describes as a blatant and illegal land grab by local authorities.
The dispute centers on a five-plot property that Azeez claims was legally acquired during the administration of the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, a time when Abass Aleshinloye presided over the local government.
With documentation in hand and a payment of N245,000 processed through the council’s Director of Estate, Mrs. Bukola Wurola-Esan, Azeez believed his investment was secure.
He had even gone as far as erecting a perimeter fence and a gate, marking the physical boundaries of his future enterprise.
However, the shifting sands of urban development—specifically the discussions surrounding the 500-
metre corridor of Governor Makinde’s Circular Road project—provided the backdrop for a sudden and aggressive challenge to his ownership.
“The property had already been secured with perimeter fencing and a gate before the dispute emerged.. individuals entered the fenced property by jumping over the perimeter fence to commence excavation.”
The timeline of the dispute reveals a systematic breakdown of property security.
The ordeal began with the initial acquisition intended for hotel development, which later became
entangled in the uncertainties surrounding the state-level Circular Road project.
This ambiguity allegedly served as a pretext for the local government to challenge Azeez’s ownership, leading to unauthorized entries where individuals scaled the perimeter fence to begin excavation.
These individuals claimed they had purchased the plots directly from the
local government, escalating the situation to a boiling point roughly a month ago.
Despite a temporary halt ordered by the Idi-Ayunre Police Station, the pressure from the council only intensified. Azeez soon received a formal letter from the Oluyole Local Government informing him that three of his five plots had been revoked.
The situation took a more suspicious turn when council officials demanded the original copies of his purchase receipts and insisted he produce the original seller at the secretariat—demands Azeez, on the advice of his lawyers, firmly rejected while offering photographic copies for verification.
Despite the intervention of respected community leaders and Mogajis, including Baba Oloye Fijabi Akiade, these mediation efforts have so far failed to resolve the deepening impasse. Work continues on the disputed plots even as the review process lingers.
Azeez’s appeal to Governor Makinde is not just a plea for his own land, but a call for due process and transparency in a system where the lines between public development and private deprivation are becoming dangerously blurred.
As of the latest reports, Oluyole Local Government Chairman Akeem Olatunji and the council have yet to issue a public response to these grave allegations.
