Don’t Deal With Land Grabbers, OAU Warns Members Of The Public
Management of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife has warned the general public not to deal with land grabbers who are selling the landed property of the ancient institution.
The University specifically alleged that a group, “Great Ife Development Board” had encroached its land, and had been selling it in plots to unsuspecting members of the public.
According to the University Public Relations Officer Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, some individuals had approached the institution and said some parcels of the land given to the institution at inception should be relinquished to them.
He however said the land of the institution belongs to the federal government of Nigeria and had been gazzetted, adding that the university was not ready to part with its land.
Olanrewaju who conducted newsmen round the disputed land spanning 120 hectares alleged that the University could not allocate three new hostels with capacity to accommodate 360 students to them because of fear of physical and spiritual attack by built by the land grabbers.
According to him, those behind the move to forcefully take over the institution’s land, after erecting a signpost bearing ‘Ife Community’ on the land, ordered the institution to stop work on the ongoing construction work on the hostel for OAU International School and chased away security guards employed by the university from the area.
On the allegations that the land grabbers poisoned the dam supplying water to the institution, Olanrewaju said, “one of our security guards saw those men that poisoned our water.
“He saw them when they approached our dam. Those that perpetrated the act carried dangerous weapons and they overpowered our security man before they put the poison in the water.
“We were lucky that they could not gain access to the main source of the dam. All aquatic creatures from the point where they put the water all died.
“And the stench coming from the water at the point the act was carried out was unbearable. But few days after, it rained and that flushed away the poison. We took the water to lab for laboratory analysis and it was confirmed safe for drinking.
“We will remain peaceful but the university will not cede its land to anyone. We are ready for partnership with Ife town to development our land but not with any individual. We also warn members of the public against dealing with those behind this issue.”
ENDS