Osogbo Varsity Cries Out As Land Grabbers Invade Campus In Osogbo
The management of Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State, has raised the alarm over the activities of suspected land grabbers who are allegedly selling land belonging to the institution to unsuspecting members of the public.
The university has called on President Bola Tinubu, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to intervene and halt the illegal activities.
Addressing journalists on the university campus in Osogbo on Thursday, the Registrar, Mr Sheriff Adenekan, explained that armed hoodlums, acting on behalf of suspected land grabbers, had been selling parts of the institution’s 124.349 hectares of land at the Agric Farm Settlement area in Oke Osun, Osogbo.
Adenekan stated that whenever the matter was reported to the police, some university staff members ended up being detained instead of the actual perpetrators, accusing the police of complicity in the matter.
He demanded urgent intervention from both the federal and state governments to prevent further encroachment on the institution’s land.
He emphasised that the university had legally acquired the land and possessed all necessary documents, including a Certificate of Occupancy issued on 5 January 2006 by the Osun State Ministry of Lands.
“It was shocking when, in October 2024, certain individuals suddenly stormed the land and forcefully gained entry in a violent manner. The land grabbers, acting in a manner suggestive of conspiratorial gangsterism, destroyed the university’s signposts and other valuables before fraudulently selling the land to unsuspecting buyers.
“The university reported the incident to the nearest police station, and the matter eventually reached the Zone 11 Police Headquarters in Osogbo. However, it was disappointing that university staff members were arrested and prosecuted by the same police to whom we had reported the crime,” Adenekan said.
He called on Tinubu, Adeleke, and other relevant authorities to intervene and provide security for the university, its staff, and its property against non-state actors who had unlawfully occupied the land and continued their activities unchecked.
“It is important to state that no court has issued a judgment invalidating the university’s title to the land. The university has consulted extensively with community leaders, elders, and other stakeholders over this troubling development, yet the activities of the land grabbers continue unabated,” he added.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of Zone XI Command, Osogbo, Ade Ogunyemi, dismissed the allegations, challenging the university to specify the cases it had reported that were improperly handled.
Ogunyemi said, “That is impossible. We do not compromise here. They should provide details of specific cases they reported and claims that were turned against them. I promise to investigate and identify the IPOs handling the cases. We do not compromise here.”
(Punch)
