INVESTIGATION: How Baaleship Tussle Turns Bloody In Gberigbe Area of Ikorodu

Salau Rasheed, Lookman Katola and two others are still nursing painful wounds and scars sustained from their attempt to obey the court order empowering Orelade Ladera Family of powers to produce traditional chieftaincy head, otherwise known as Baale of Gberigbe Orelade Town, a suburb of Ikorodu located off Ijede Road. Previously, SECURITY MONITOR publishes the brutality meted upon these men in a communal crisis at Gberigbe in Ikorodu area of Lagos state. These are members of Orelade Ladera family, armed with 2010 High Court Judgment delivered by Justice H A O Abiru that “the Orelade Ladera family to the exclusion of others Chieftaincy family is entitled to produce the Baale of Gberigbe Orelade in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos state”, Chief Olugbenga Mayan, the Baale appointed by Orelade Ladera Family and his chiefs were molested and brutalized by family members of Fasanya, defenders to the justice Abiru High Court Ruling.

One would say the matter is settled as Taleeman Fasanya, Tajudeen Shokenu , 10 others and Oba AK Hassan, The Abowa of Agbowa have been barred by this judgment particularly since there is no Appellate decisions, to participate in the Chieftaincy process but the crisis keeps reoccurring at the detriment of peace, security of lives and properties.

SECURITY MONITOR’s investigator, Wale Abideen, realizes there are two traditional heads in Gberigbe Orelade as he led other investigative journalists to trace the crux of the crises and scoops that lack of synergy and effective communications amongst agents of governments, judicial interferences and corruption may have catalyze skirmishes into full scale war or prolonged litigation in Nigeria

An official Gazette by the Lagos State Government, dated 24 March 2015, N0 23…Vol.48 recognized the creation of Chieftaincy title, Baale of Gberigbe Orelade under Ikorodu Local Government and not Epe Local Government or Agbowa Ikosi Local Government. The reality in Gberigbe Orelade is that there are two major families contending for the traditional head (Baale) of Gberigbe Orelade, one is Gberigbe Orelade who originates from Agbowa and the other is Orelade Ladera that has their roots from Ikorodu. While Gberigbe Orelade crowned Musliu Rodosho as Baale Orelade Ladera installed Olugbenga Adaralohun Mayan as the traditional head of the same Gberigbe Orelade Town.

Mayan’s installation was said to have been endorsed by the late paramount ruler of Ikorodu, Oba Oyefusi, the then Ayangburen of Ikorodu. Regretably, efforts to speak with Oba Adewale Shotobi, the reigning Ayangburen of Ikorodu was unsuccessful. Oba Shotobi booked an appointment with SECURITY MONITOR in a telephone conversation as he said that the “Gberigbe Orelade matter cannot be discussed through phone” but our reporter could not see him when he visited the palace the following day.

SECURITY MONITOR sought the audience of the two factional traditional heads: Mayan and Rodosho. Mayan insisted that he is the authentic Baale who was recognized by Ayangburen of Ikorodu. He added that “when we hear of another existing Baale, we went after them and sued them. We won the cases from magistrayte to the High Court. But on 28 of June, 2014 in the evening, our opponent (Gberigbe Orelade Royal Family) came in with cultists and thugs. They shoot sporadically and scared people out of their homes. They stabbed our people and many sustain serious injury. They even beat the police we invited. One person even went into coma. They were found of bragging that they know one retired DIG of police, Abdulrahman Akano who always help them to secure bail from police custody whenever they commit crime. We are not thugs and we cannot be dragging issues with such thugs. So, we left the town for them and drag them to court and we won the case in 2009 and ever since then we have resorted to violence and thugery. When we heard that they were planning to seek recognition from Ayangburen of Ikorodu, we went there and the paramount King sent them parking. Sincerely speaking there are two royal families that are entitled to the throne: Orelade and Ladera. The likes of Talem Fasaya, Kayode Odugbetan and co are tenants to our forefathers. The papers they were using to pay fee to our forefathers are there with us. The former Baale is from Ladera and now the turn of Orelade.

In Contrary, Rodosho, a factional Baale of the Gberigbe Orelade affirmed that the Agbowa Ikosi in Agbowa Ikosi LCDA are the rightful owners of Gberigbe Orelade and that paramount ruler of Agbowa Ikosi, Abowa of Agbowa reserved the right to install the Baale of Gberigbe Orelade. The factional Baale said that “we are just under Ikorodu Local Government by Government decision. I was the deputy to the former Baale Fasanya who is now late and I have been installed as substantive Baale since two years ago. We have this case in court, which has been handled by various judges. Nothing like Ladera, it’s just a fake coinage by dubious land grabbers. There is Gberigbe Ewuowa which belongs to Ikorodu. Our own is Gberigbe Orelade, we migrated from Agbowa and we shared boundary with Gberigbe Ewuowa at a pipeline junction”. Rodosho said as he appeals to government to intervene in the matter.

Kayode Shokenu Odugbitan is a retired civil servant and secretary of Gberigbe Orelade Royal Family. He told our medium that his family has been adjudged to be the sole ruling house in Gbeigbe Orelade since 1913. He explained that that there are two Gberigbe communities. “Gberigbe Orelade is an extension of Agbowa under Epe Local Government but ceded to Agbowa /Ikosi Local Council Development Authority, LCDA. The Gberigbe Orelade land is owned by Agbowa migrants and so Abowa of Agbowa is traditionally empowered to crown a traditional head in that community. Orelade founded the town and when he died the mantle of traditional head was handed down to Rodosho who was a member of our family. Rodosho and Orelade were of the same farther but there was a boundary war in the year 1907 between Gberigbe Orelade and Gberigbe Ewu Owa which led to the dissertation of the area by its rightful owner. A known herbalist was consulted after the war. The herbalist, Gbojogun was invited from Agura, a border village to Gberigbe Orelade and truly Gbojogun was from Ijede. He later invited his Ijede kinsmen to strike the village which led to litigation in 1911 and we won in 1913; our family won the case in the Supreme Court of Colony of Southern Nigeria.” Mr. Odugbetan buttressed his claim with a 1913 IBM typed Court Judgment delivered and signed by Acting Chief Justice J. Wikfield.

According to Odugbetan, the quest to seize Gberigbe Orelade by the Ikorodu indigenes has been an aged long struggle. “We crown our Musliu Rodosho as Baale from Agbowa because that is our origin but we seek recognition from the Ikorodu Kingdom to be observed by Ayangburen of Ikorodu because government categorized us under Ikorodu Local Government and that has been the practice but this was truncated recently at the palace of Ayangburen of Ikorodu when some people framed up Orelade Ladera Royal Family and claimed they have legal battle against us over the Baaleship title. These people came from Ijede and they struck us out of the village. We have written series of petition to that effect concerning the criminal activities of these people who called themselves Orelade Ladera family. We have land related cases against them in court.”

The secretary of Orelade Ladera Family, Alhaji Moshood Oshikoya Andu spoke with SECURITY MONITOR and hailed the late Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Oyefusi for sending his chiefs to court during the Baaleship litigation. The last paragraph of Justice Abiru judgment was clear; the court held that all the people who constituted themselves into Gberigbe Orelade family don’t have legal right to participate in the Baleship process. Talem Fasanya, Sunday Oshisanya and Kayode Odugbetan are not from Gberigbe at all.

“When we won in the court, they brought in one man, Tajudeen Usman Kewulere as agent to sell our land. They brought in thugs and they rained with impunity. We heard of their strength especially the huge support given them by retired AIG Akano. We traced his house and met him more than three times. He is their godfather and showed him all documents concerning baleship but the retired police officer waved us aside, noting that he believes our opponent has judgment to occupy the town. We later discovered Justice Savage gave them expert judgment and we petitioned the Judge at the Nigeria Judicial Commission, NJC, in Abuja. The Baale and I went to NJC to defend it. NJC later warned Justice Savage not to repeat such judgment. It was published inside newspapers and I have the paper with me. And the case was transferred to Justice Williams who gave his ruling in year 2017 that ‘his ruling has set aside the 1911 and the expert given them by Justice Savage were nullified” and up till date the 2009 High Court Judgment that we are rightful owner of the stool. Based on that judgment, we petitioned Alagbon Police formation and they sent him officers to follow us to the town with members of our family. And to our dismay, they were attack by the same opposition family and injured our family members and some police officers. DSP Dosumu of X Squad was in charge of the case then when police officers were brutalized by hoodlums. It was learnt that retired DIG Akano was the brain behind their release and reign of impunity”.

But the retired DIG, Abdulrahman Olajide Akano denied any involvement in the Baleship tussle. He alleged that a popular estate manager, “Kamorudeen Lamina was found of mentioning my name in matters that does not concern me and I have taken him to court including Channels Television that broadcast the matter. The senior citizen who hosts SECURITY MONITOR in his Ipaja, Lagos residence said that that he’s just doing his job as a lawyer and not as a police officer. He added that since he retired, he has been practicing his profession as a lawyer and that one of his client Tajudeen Usman Kewulere has more about the matter. He however called Mr. Usman who also came to the DIG house to respond to questions from SECURITY MONITOR.

Tajudeen Usman though affirmed he has some landed properties in Gberigbe Orelade. “When crisis erupted between indigenous families many of my properties were destroyed. It is not true that retired DIG were supported hoodlums. The DIG Akano I know is a peace loving man and he is such a man that doesn’t like cheating. He always advise us on how to address issues with legal proceedings and I can tell you that with an example of one Sheriff that has been in detention for the past many months and the DIG never say he wanted to intrude the case despite the fact that his relatives consulted him for assistance. There have been cases of sporadic shootings in the town. It was said that many police officers at Area N Police Command in Ijede were been used to torment trouble in that area. Many of the police officers who had been the area command for many years were aiding the crime”.

However, Otunba Kamorudeen Lamina, the Chief Executive Officer of Omo Lamina Lands and Properties told SECURITY MONITOR that the retired DIG Akano is not clean of the mess going on in Gberigbe Orelade. He added that the retired DIG always perfect the bail of whoever arrested in connection to the crime going on in Gberigbe and it’s in environs. “I don’t have any interest in Gberigbe. Everything happening in Gberigbe is been perpetuated by Tajudeen and his godfather, retired DIG Abdulrahman Akano. They are the gaents of factional royal family. If any violence occurs in Gberigbe today, the retired DIG is always the one who calls police authority, using his influence as a retired senior officer to get bails for the suspects and truncate the case. They arrested some thugs there with riffles and they were taken to FSARS but retired DIG Akano did not let them spend two days in the cell. He lies if he denies this. He has a wife there called Alhaja Rashidat Akano who resides in Gberigbe. Akano has properties in Gberigbe. Akano is into land business even when he was in police force till now that he retired. He has land business in Ipetoro, Subode and so on. His son, Sheriff Akano who is police detention for the past six months was accused of murder someone over land matter. I bought two plots of land there but have to sell it when the crisis was too much. My company has a property in Ipetoro but Akano and his men never allow us to have peace. He will influence police decisions in Eleweran, Fsars and so on. In 2016, some guys were arrested for violence crisis over land matters by FSARS but Akano went there and bailed them. Later residents of the Ipetoro protested against him and it was aired on Channels TV. Akano later sued Channels TV, two other others and I in the suit but the case was struck out for lack of merit'”.