By Adeyinka Adeniran
Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun on Monday kicked against hurried execution of court judgment on land matters, most of which put residents in untold hardship and unimaginable dislocation.
This was part of the discussions held at the Olubadan Advisory Council’s meeting presided over by the monarch at his Alarere residence and which had in attendance the Balogun of Ibadanland, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, his Osi, Ashipa, Ekerin and Ekarun, Obas Lateef Gbadamosi Adebimpe, Kolawole Adegbola, Dada Isioye and Abiodun Azeez respectively.
From the Otun line were Obas Eddy Oyewole, Biodun Kola -Daisi, Hamidu Ajibade and Adebayo Akande, the Osi Olubadan, Ashipa, Ekerin and Ekarun respectively at the meeting where there were various contributions against the subject-matter.
Olubadan, who maintained that as much as his belief in the rule of law remains unshaken and untainted, he insisted that he would not fold arms and be watching some individuals hiding under the canopy of court judgments, most of which may be questionable to throw people into anguish and unimaginable crisis.
Oba Balogun explained that any court judgment execution that has no human face cannot be encouraged, adding, “let’s even assume without conceding that a judgment is obtained against some people, there’s law, there’s tradition. Where lies our humanity when we take bulldozer to a community and render people homeless just within a twinkle of an eye?
“In most cases, here are people that have lived all their lives, some claiming to have spent decades on the so called disputed land. Unfortunately, some of them are oblivious that there’s a court case going on in their absence only to wake up one morning to become vagabonds and homeless, that’s nothing but sheer wickedness which we frown at seriously at this level”, Olubadan added.
In a statement by the Personal Assistant (Media) to the Olubadan, Oladele Ogunsola, the reactions followed the report by the Ekerin Olubadan, Oba Ajibade on the alleged bulldozing of a whole community in Akinyele local government area of the state by an acclaimed owner of the land on account of court judgment said to be in his favour.
Oba Ajibade, who painted a graphic picture of the demolition of the community, Adegboro said to be grossly inhuman disclosed that the exercise affected a blind man who claimed to be sleeping about since then in addition to losing all his belongings to the unexpected and destructive visitor.
According to Oba Ajibade, “the idea of some people going about with court judgment to claim people’s land should be looked into as most of the people suffering from such judgments’ execution are local people with little or no idea about the court cases that render them homeless”.
The report attracted various comments of indignation as well as condemnation from across the members in attendance, stressing that the idea is fastly gaining ground and charged those engaging in such acts to desist or face the wrath of Olubadan and his Council members. They added that anything that would discomfort anybody under any guise could not be met with favourable sanction of the Council.
