Three suspected land grabbing syndicate have been arrested in the Gbayunre axis of Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, the police in the southwest state have said.
According to police, the arrest of the suspects, Sunday Owoyele, 32, Idowu Ayobami, 32 and Kola Owolabi, 39, on April 4 was sequel to a petition received from the Dada Gbabi family of Gbayunre Village.
Police spokesman for the Ogun State command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed that the complainant (Gbabi), stated that a group of land grabbers, led by Joseph Ayodele, invaded their village with dangerous weapons and chased out the family from their landed property, situated at Atan Ayunre area and forcefully occupied the village.
Oyeyemi said that on the strength of the petition, the Commissioner of Police, (CP), directed the Deputy Commissioner (DC) in-charge of State Criminal Investigation Departments, DCP Babakura Muhammed, to investigate the case and bring the culprit to book.
“In compliance with the CP’s directive, the D.C detailed a team of detectives to the scene where three members of the syndicate were apprehended.
“While others including their leader, Ayodele Joseph, who has been on the wanted list of the Command in connection with a series of violent land grabbing cases in Ado-odo, Ota and its environs took to their heels.
“One of the arrested suspects, Kola Owolabi, had once been arrested for snatching a rifle from an officer, but was overpowered then, and he was subsequently charged to court and remanded in prison custody,” he said.
The police recovered assorted charms and weeds, suspected to be Indian hemp from the suspects, Mr Oyeyemi said.
The police command advised Ayodele Joseph, the leader of the violent gang, to turn himself in at the state Criminal Investigation Departments, Eleweran, Abeokuta in his own interests. The police said, otherwise, he would be “hunted down” and brought to justice.
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