Land Dispute: Family petitions Tinubu over alleged eviction threat by Faleke, river basin agency

The Akinole-Oshiun family of Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos State, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in a dispute over an 8,000-square-metre parcel of land, alleging that lawmaker James Faleke and the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA) are seeking to eject it from the property.

The disputed land is located along Lateef Jakande Road, opposite the Coca-Cola factory in Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos State

In an open letter shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, the family alleged that Mr Faleke, who represents Ikeja Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, recently visited the property with land agents and lawyers while pursuing what the family described as a long lease from OORBDA.

The family further alleged that the lawmaker threatened to deploy “presidential power” and the police to remove it from the land.

The allegations are part of a wider dispute over land in Agidingbi that has been the subject of litigation for decades.

The family, represented in the letter by its head, Isiaka Akinole, and secretary, Fatai Oshiun, stated that several court judgements had established its interest in the wider property and that OORBDA had not challenged those decisions.

It said the latest dispute was therefore an attempt to sidestep the judicial process.

The court battles

The dispute dates back to litigation in the 1970s over about 398 acres of land in and around Agidingbi.

The family cited a 1977 judgement of the Lagos State High Court in Suit No. ID/216/77L, Chief Sule Akinole & Anor. v. Ato Mogaji & Ors., followed by decisions of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Among the cases cited by the family are Appeal Nos. CA/L/517M/99, CA/L/649M/06 and CA/L/776/2014, as well as Supreme Court Suit No. SC/173/2009, Ato Mogaji & Ors. v. Chief Sule Otabiyi Akinole.

The earlier litigation involved competing claims to the land and occupation of parts of the property by persons described as customary tenants.

According to the family, the judgements established its interest in the wider property.

In April 2019, the family explained that it obtained and executed a writ of possession issued by the Lagos State High Court. It said the court’s deputy sheriff carried out the writ in the presence of police officers, after which a Form O, which the family described as a certificate of writ of execution, was issued.

The family maintains that the 8,000-square-metre parcel now at the centre of the dispute is part of the land covered by the earlier litigation.

House of Assembly intervenes

The dispute later came before the Lagos State House of Assembly following a petition alleging illegal allocations of land covered by the Supreme Court judgment.

The family noted that OORBDA officials, including its Director of Legal Services, appeared before the House during a public hearing.

It said the House’s Rules and Business Committee subsequently resolved that the Lagos State Government should comply with the court decisions and recognise the family as owners of the 398-acre property.

The family also stressed that the state government later issued allocations and survey plans for some vacant plots in the area, including properties along Lateef Jakande Road.

It noted that it remained in possession of the disputed parcel for more than two years before the latest disagreement arose.

Family withdrew committal proceedings

The dispute with OORBDA also resulted in committal proceedings at the Lagos State High Court.

The family said it commenced the proceedings in July 2024 against several individuals and organisations it accused of violating the possession order.

Those named included OORBDA, Royal Masters School, AHCH Towers, De Martinos Hotels and Event Centre, Japaul Building and ADDAS Mall.

The case, Suit No. ID/923M/99, was before Justice K.O. Alogba, the Chief Judge of the Lagos State High Court.

According to the family, Forms 48 and 49 were served on the parties and OORBDA responded through its lawyer.

The family said it later withdrew the proceedings following an intervention by the Lagos State House of Assembly, which was seeking an acceptable resolution to competing interests in the area.

The court subsequently struck out the Forms 48 and 49 on 17 May 2025, according to the family.

It now disputes what it described as OORBDA’s claim that there is a subsisting case supporting the agency’s position over the land.

In the letter to Mr Tinubu, the family stated that OORBDA had been aware of the earlier judgments and its claim to the property for years.

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It accused Mr Faleke and the agency of attempting to use political influence and government machinery rather than resolving the dispute through the courts.

“Our family remains law-abiding and will continue to be guided by due process of the law,” the family said.

“It is an aberration on the part of Hon. James Abiodun Faleke and OORBDA to sidestep due process and resort to self-help when they have full knowledge of our family’s interest, duly vested by judgments of superior courts of record and recognised by the Government of Lagos State as far as ownership of the subject property is concerned.”

The family urged the president to call Mr Faleke and OORBDA officials to order and ensure that security agencies are not used to remove it from the property.

It said it was seeking a resolution based on “the sanctity of our country’s judicial process” and the rule of law.

Mr Faleke and OORBDA had not responded to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.