The Kuje royal family in Lagos has accused a popular community elder, Alhaji Taoreed Farounbi of sponsoring attacks against its top members over a land boundary dispute between two families from Amuwo-Odofin and Isheri-Oshun. The accused, we gathered, was allegedly contracted as agent by the Fagbile Isheri-Oshun family, a party in the disputed land.
According to a statement by the Kuje family, the attacks were launched by about 50 men who invaded the Whitesand community located between Festac and Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, on Thursday 19th of March, 2020, allegedly wounding two prominent figures in the family namely Mr. Monsuru Akande, Surveyor Bayo Benson, with his police security detail while the windshield of Monsuru’s vehicle was reportedly smashed in the process and his expensive phone snatched.
Two young men who were said to be working on the disputed land on behalf of the family, Oluwoyo Debo and Daniel Chibuzor, were unlucky as they reportedly died of machete cuts allegedly inflicted on them by the rampaging hoodlums.
Head of the Kuje Amuwo royal family, Chief Ligali Suaibu Hassan, who spoke to this magazine, said that the victims of the attacks were lured to Whitesand on the pretext of inviting them for a peace meeting with the other side when suddenly they were descended upon by the alleged culprits supposedly supervised by Alado and others named as Segun Echo, Ayokunle, IK, Nureni, Musiliu and one Adewale said to be a police inspector.
“Although, we have been having issues with the Fagbile family in Isheri Oshun over boundary issues, this was the first time we were experiencing violence,” Chief Hassan stressed.
Narrating the events of the day, Chief Hassan stated: ”We have our surveyor and they have their surveyor too but they hired an agent to be selling their lands on their behalf. The two families met and agreed to invite a neutral surveyor who has a vast knowledge of the boundaries of all the communities in Amuwo-Odofin, Isheri Oshun and other parts. Before the agreed date for the boundary resolution, we wrote a letter to the police at FESTAC division to give us policemen who would serve as witnesses.
When our people got there, they saw policemen and soldiers around and they felt assured that there wouldn’t be any problem. But to our surprise, there were hoodlums there too and before our people could think of what to do, the hoodlums descended on them and began to use different weapons on them, right in the presence of the policeman who accompanied our surveyor to the site. The same policemen who were watching us being attacked from a distance later came to pick those of us who were injured to Isheri Oshun police station, instead of taking us to the hospital.”
However, a member of the Fagbile family who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, said his people did not have a hand in the attacks. Although he admitted there was supposed to be a meeting between both parties that day, he maintained that, “we were preparing to come when we heard that some hoodlums were attacking some persons there. Perhaps we were supposed to be their targets”.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, confirmed the incident and the death of two persons. Elkana who also disclosed that two suspects were arrested in connection with the matter, said policemen at the FESTAC Town Division only responded to a distress call that hoodlums were invading the venue of a peace meeting.
Chief Taoreed Farounbi could not be reached for comments as his known MTN line was unavailable at the time of going to press.
Meanwhile, determined to get justice over the matter, counsel to the Kuje Amuwo family, Bayo Omoniyi, in a petition to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Mohammed, dated March 19, 2020, demanded further investigations into the cause of the attacks and why there there was delay in police response to the distress calls.
