Family in Nigeria asks Tinubu to intervene in land dispute
The Akinole-Oshun family from Agidingbi in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in a dispute over an 8,000-square-metre plot of land. According to Premium Times Nigeria, the family claims that House of Representatives member James Faleke and the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA) are attempting to evict it from the area.
The plot is located on Lateef Jakande Road, opposite the Coca-Cola plant in Agidingbi. In an open letter, the family said that Faleke, who represents the Ikeja federal constituency, visited the site together with land agents and lawyers. According to the letter's authors, the lawmaker seeks to obtain a long-term lease of the land from OORBDA and threatened to use “presidential power” and the police to evict the family.
Court rulings
Family representatives Isiaka Akinole and Fatai Oshun said that land disputes over approximately 398 acres in Agidingbi began in the 1970s. They refer, in particular, to a 1977 Lagos State High Court ruling in case No. ID/216/77L, as well as subsequent rulings by Nigeria's Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
According to the family, these rulings established its right to a larger area of land, which includes the disputed plot. In April 2019, it said it obtained and enforced a writ of possession issued by the Lagos State High Court. The family stated that the procedure was carried out by a deputy court sheriff in the presence of police, after which Form O, which it describes as a certificate of enforcement of the order, was issued.
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Consideration by the state Assembly
The matter was later considered by the Lagos State Assembly following a complaint about the alleged unlawful allocation of land covered by the Supreme Court ruling. The family said that OORBDA officials, including the director of legal services, took part in public hearings. According to the family, the Assembly's Committee on Rules and Business adopted a resolution under which the state government was to enforce the court rulings and recognize the family as owners of 398 acres of land.
In July 2024, the family initiated proceedings at the Lagos State High Court over non-enforcement of the possession order against several individuals and organizations, including OORBDA. It later withdrew the proceedings after the intervention of the state Assembly, which was seeking to settle competing claims. According to the family, on May 17, 2025, the court struck Forms 48 and 49 from the proceedings.
In its letter to Tinubu, the family urged him not to allow security forces to be used to evict it and accused Faleke and OORBDA of attempting to use political influence instead of resolving the dispute in court. Faleke and OORBDA had not responded to these claims as of the publication of the Premium Times Nigeria report.
