MEET FRANK OSHANUGOR
By Frank Oshanugor
The founder of Harmony Garden and Estate Development Limited and Ibile Auctioneers and Recovery Limited, Dr. Saheed Mosadoluwa has accused the Chairman of the Lagos State Taskforce; Shola Jejeloye, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) of involvement in land grabbing and enriching himself with the proceeds of land grabbing.
The businessman also alleged that Jejeloye is a land grabber in police uniform who has been trying to hijack his (Mosadoluwa) investment.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, Ibile, as he is popularly referred to, noted that the Taskforce Chairman and his officers have not only ignored a substantial court order that requires all parties to maintain the status quo on the case, pending not only the transfer of the case file to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) but also until the suit is determined by any court of law in Nigeria.
The Special Offences Mobile court in Lagos also ordered that the nominal complainant, as well as the Chairman of the Lagos State TaskForce, CSP Jejeloye or any officer(s) of the Task Force, should restrain from encroaching and continuing to erect any fence or anything on the subject matter of the suit.
However, Ibile stated that Jejeloye did not obey the court order. He said the saga revolves around a contentious land dispute in the Eyin-Osa area of Lagos, where Ibile’s company, Harmony Garden and Estate Development Limited, has invested nearly 700 million Naira in a property.
The dispute initially began with the claim that the Lagos State governor instructed the task force to allow one Murphy Adebare, whom Ibile alleges is a renowned land grabber, to take possession of the property.
He also claimed that the police are accusing him of alleged terrorism, kidnapping, and land grabbing, while he only tried to defend himself against an assassin hired to force him to part with the properties he had invested in.
However,he noted that the land in question is not government-acquired but government resettlement land. Despite Ibile’s legal possession and a court order maintaining the status quo, the task force allegedly supported the actions of Murphy Adebare.
According to Ibile, CSP Jejeloye employed various tactics to pressure him into giving up his property. He claimed that the tactics by Murphy Adebare, who has been using Jejeloye to intimidate him, included arrests, threats, and even involvement of an alleged hired assassin, popularly known as Esho Olobo, who attempted to take Ibile’s life.
“Esho Olobo confessed that he was hired by Adebare and produced evidence of payment to the assassin. He actually shot at me, but I was able to overpower him by the grace of almighty God and held him down. By the time I brought him out, the Mobile Policemen with me and some members of the community had arrested six other persons and stripped them naked.
That was the video that is being circulated, which they have edited. They are not circulating the part where Esho Olobo confessed that he was paid to assassinate me; he mentioned the account details where Adebare paid into. We handed him over to the police in Abuja, and when the police investigated the payment, it was discovered that it was Adebare who transferred money into the account of the assassin, and he made a confessional statement to that effect.
“I have been arrested by CSP Jejeloye over untrue allegations and locked up, while I have written various petitions to the former AIG Kokumo, the Lagos State commissioner of police, and even his predecessor.”
Ibile added that there is legal advice that stated that Esho Olobo, the alleged assassin, must produce the gun he purportedly discarded in a bush while being pursued by us because bullets were found on him upon his arrest.
He further alleged that Jejeloye is behind all the false narratives about him on social media to discredit him and ruin his business. “He accuses me of being a land grabber, yet he opposes the state government, despite the fact that my company is paying billions for land allocation, which the government granted to those who sold to us.
“Jejeloye is using a promoter to claim and sell the proceeds of his land grabbing acts. He’s filed a lawsuit against me to prove I’m an investor, not a land grabber. I challenge him to clear his name from these investigations; he may be working against the interests of Lagos State.
He’s circulating falsehoods; much of what you see online is fabricated to tarnish my brand ‘Harmony Garden’ and my reputation. I invite anyone with evidence of undocumented property payments to approach me. The video on m has been manipulated. I wasn’t arrested by Jejeloye; I voluntarily met with the Commissioner of Police. I had already petitioned that out matter should be taken away from Jejeloye and given to a neutral person to carry out the investigation. They are demolishing my properties without court orders, handing them to those involved in land grabbing.
“We are in court, and the judge ordered all parties to maintain the status quo. The assassination attempt on my life in July was not followed by an arrest but the police claimed that one Adetola Nola had written a petition against me, while Jejeloye told me to my face that it’s in my best interest to resolve the matter by negotiating with those who want to hijack my investment.
“The case is in both Lagos and Abuja. On October 10th, I reported to the CP in Lagos, and community leaders provided information that contradicts the charges against us. A kangaroo court was set up, and charges were rejected by the Attorney General. They are just duplicating the case files everywhere, and the matter of dehumanization is also in court.
“I am not accusing the entire police force, but rather, I allege that CSP Shola Jejeloye is a land grabber in police uniform who manipulates his superiors and principals in Lagos State. “It is true that nobody can manufacture evidence, but what will it take the DIG or the IGP to ask another officer to investigate whatever petition Jejeloye has, so as to know that he is a manipulator, a land grabber who is using the founder of Veritasi Homes to sell the proceeds of his land grabbing,” he said
Attempt to reach the Task Force Chairman, Jejeloye by AtlanticNewsonline with a view to getting his own side of the allegation failed. However, his Public Relations Officer, Mr. Rahman Badeyan on Saturday told AtlanticNewsonline on phone that as far as he knew, Jejeloye was not into land grabbing.
He added that such an issue as serious as it is, should better be taken to court if the Harmony boss was sure of his accusation.
In his words, “as far as I am concerned, going to court is the most civilised way of settling any dispute on land grabbing but I know my boss is working on behalf of the state and has never been accused of land grabbing,”
