Two brothers, Taofeek Oduasanyin and Apewo Oduasanyin, both of the Itu?si Baba Ode Royal Family in Ogun State, have dragged the Nigeria Police and others before the Ogun State High Court, Ota, over what they described as unlawful arrest, detention, and continuous harassment.
The brothers, who were allegedly detained between July 31 and August 6 by officers attached to the Eleweran Police Command in Abeokuta, filed the suit through their counsel, Taiwo Ogunleye, seeking enforcement of their fundamental human rights.
In their application, they urged the court to declare their arrest and detention unconstitutional, oppressive, and a gross violation of their rights as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution (as amended). They also accused the police of intimidation, threats, and preventing them and their family from accessing their legitimate landed property at the Itusi family land in Ilogbo Baba Ode, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The claimants are seeking an order restraining the police from interfering in the family’s land dispute, stressing that there is already a valid court judgment restraining the police and their agents from using coercion or force against them. They further demanded that the court compel the respondents to pay N50 million each to Taofeek Oduasanyin, Apewo Oduasanyin, Mr. Bankole Michael, and Mr. Andrew Sunday as compensation for the violation of their rights.
Additionally, they are asking the court to order the police to return N2 million and N1.6 million allegedly taken from them during their arrest.
Recounting his ordeal, Taofeek Oduasanyin revealed that he had written multiple petitions to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and other security agencies over recurring attacks from land grabbers, which, according to him, have turned his community into a “battlefield.”
He lamented that despite over 33 petitions, appeals, and “Save Our Souls” letters sent to successive police chiefs, Attorneys-General, legislators, and even governors of Ogun State since 2019, no meaningful action had been taken. Instead, he alleged that security officials and some government agencies collude with a “notorious land grabber” to oppress farmers, landowners, tenants, and property developers in the area.
“Why have the land grabbers not been brought to book despite the several petitions I have written against them since 2019? Even when one of them was invited, nothing was done to him or his group members,” Oduasanyin queried.