Land speculation: Chieftaincy family petitions senate

(NIGERIA) The senate committee on public petitions, ethics and privileges have been urged to investigate activities of land speculators allegedly terrorising members of Kuje Amuwo Chieftaincy family in Amuwo-odofin Local Government of Lagos State over 508 hectares of land situated at Festac Town extension, along Badagry Express Way, Lagos.
The chieftaincy family in a petition dated November 17, 2014, and signed by its General Secretary, Mustapha Akinlolu also prayed the senate committee to help curb the activities of one Chief Mutairu Owoeye, allegedly acting on behalf of a dissident group within the family.
While equally calling on the senate to direct Owoeye out of the land in dispute, the chieftaincy family posited that the disputed land was released to the Kuje Amuwo-odofin family, consequent upon an application by the family to the Federal Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development.
The Kuje Amuwo Chieftaincy family explained that the application demanded for the release of unused land of their land after the 1976-1977 Africa Festival of Art and Culture hosted by Nigeria.
They family insisted that shortly after the release of the land, a dissident group in one of the seven branches that made up the Kuje family allegedly engaged the services of one Owoeye to mount surveillance on the land, thereby disturbing legal activities at the site.
According to the family, "The action of the dissident group threw up lot of dissatisfaction and acrimonies among hitherto peaceful Kuje family.
"In fact, all attempts by the elders of the family to make the dissident group see reasons and make their grievances known to the larger members of the Kuje family for amicable settlement was to no avail."
The family revealed that members of the family were happy when they received a letter of invitation from a former Justice of Supreme Court (name withheld) to resolve the impasse adding that the meeting afforded them opportunity to tender all relevant documents and express their opinions on the matter.
According to them, "Prior to the reconciliation meeting, the dissident group had employed the service of a property company to act on their behalf and manage and secure the land.
"As a result of this, a member of the family, Femi Martins wrote a petition to the Police alleging threat to life and illegal activities of a notorious land speculator. We were invited to Adeniji Adele police formation and were made to write statements."
The family stated further in its petition that the Deputy Commissioner of Police who presided over the session was said to have cautioned all parties involved to maintain peace and order and ordered them to come back on Novemver 4, 2014.
The chieftaincy family argued that they were shocked when the Deputy Commissioner of Police told them that there was a directive from above that the case file be transferred to Abuja for further investigation.
According to the family, "As our representatives at the meeting were leaving the venue of the meeting, a group of police officers from the Force Headquarters, Abuja arrested them and drove them to Zone 11 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos.
"They were also ordered to report at Abuja to see the DIG ‘’D” Department, Area 10, Garki Abuja."