The Kelebe-Omu Landowners Association has appealed President Bola Tinubu to call the men of the Nigerian Army under the leadership of Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja to order over refusal to leave their land after Court rulings.
The Association described the latest twist in the media that the Army has appealed judgement 13 months after it was delivered as a “blatant lie”.
The land owners made this known during a press conference in Osogbo, on Thursday, disclosing that the Court issued a warrant of possession to them and the Army were to pay N200 million for destruction of the land.
While addressing the newsmen, Badmus Waheed Olaniyan also claimed that the army has lost its right to appeal as it was only do so 90 days after the judgment.
He said, “The claim of appealing the judgment by the defendant after 13th month is a joke of the century. We have never received any appeal notice nor did our counsel received any notice of appeal from any Court of competent jurisdiction. All actions taken after the January 10th, 2023 judgment of the High Court without appeal in the last one year were illegally taken by the defendant”
“If the fragrant disobedience of the Nigerian Army to judgment of court and the rule of law persist, we shall embark on a non-stop massive protest in Osun until we get our land back as mandated by the Court of law”, the Association reiterated.
Narrating the illegal moves by the military, Olaniyan said “the men of the Nigerian Army have been allocating our land to individuals through the Post-Service Housing Development Limited for personal use.
” As we speak, shops, warehouses, commercial and residential buildings owned by individuals as unlawfully allocated by the Nigerian Army are on the said land”, he explained.
“However, we appeal President Bola Tinubu; the National Assembly led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Hon Tajudeen Abass, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, the State Assembly led by Hon Adewale Egbedun and all relevant stakeholders to come to our aid by calling the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja to respect and act in accordance with the judgment of court before this matter snowballs to crisis”, they appealed.
The land owners have been protesting against continuous occupation of the land by the Army, insisting that court verdict must be respected.
