03/06/2026
: Court Remands Monarch, Others in Olokuta Prison as Gov. Aiyedatiwa Declares Total War on Land Grabbers
..Ondo AG says the law will spare no one, irrespective of status or influence
The Ondo State Government has intensified its sweeping crackdown on land grabbing and fraudulent land transactions, as the Magistrate Court sitting in Oke Eda, Akure, on Thursday took decisive action against another set of suspects accused of engaging in illegal land activities.
The defendants, Oba David Okunato, Tifase Folasade, the Oba of Osi Community in Akure North Local Government Area, and Nwaigbue Chijioke, alongside others said to be at large, were arraigned before the court in continuation of the State Government’s determined efforts to stamp out the menace of land grabbing across Ondo State.
According to the allegations, the embattled traditional ruler initially sold about 750 plots of land to a company for developmental purposes. However, he allegedly proceeded to resell portions of the same land to multiple individuals.
Trouble reportedly began when the company later returned to commence development on the land and discovered that several other persons were already laying claim to the property based on fresh allocations allegedly made by the monarch. The development led to serious disputes, prompting the matter to be taken back to the traditional ruler for clarification.
It was further alleged that the monarch subsequently agreed to allocate another parcel of land to the company as compensation, but later sold the same land to another buyer, thereby compounding the controversy and deepening the conflict.
In a firm demonstration of the judiciary’s zero tolerance for land-related criminality, the court remanded the defendants at the Olokuta Correctional Centre pending the perfection of their bail conditions.
The court granted bail to the defendants in the sum of Two Million Naira ( #2,000,000.00) each, with one surety who must be a recognised traditional.
