Secrets Reporters
A series of formal petitions lodged with the Nigeria Police Force Zone 2 Command Headquarters in Lagos Island between October and December 2025 has cast a harsh spotlight on the handling of escalating land disputes in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, raising questions about the effectiveness of police intervention under the leadership of then Assistant Inspector-General of Police Adegoke Mustapha Fayoade.
Fayoade, who later rose to Deputy Inspector-General supervising the South-West and ICT, oversaw Zone 2 at a time when multiple complaints of fraud, threats to life, criminal trespass and obstruction of lawful development were formally brought to the command’s attention by solicitors acting for Ms Flora Dupe Ajayi.
According to the petitions filed by S.A. Egede & Co., Ajayi engaged a project manager, Musa Audu, to acquire and develop parcels of land measuring five acres at Ibogun and fifty acres at Patako Village, Olorunsogo Town, as well as another fifty acres at Ishoko Village. Substantial sums were transferred for land purchase, survey plans, Certificate of Occupancy processing, fencing materials, crops, borehole installation, transportation, legal fees and security.
Subsequent investigations allegedly revealed systematic inflation of prices, failure to deliver valid title documents, presentation of forged Certificates of Occupancy and receipts, and non-utilisation of funds meant for physical improvements.
Revised receipts were eventually extracted under police pressure at Ibogun and the Ogun State Command in Eleweran, Abeokuta, yet physical possession of the lands remained elusive and development work was repeatedly halted by armed groups, traditional figures and agents linked to rival claimants.
Petitions specifically accused members of the Shogbehinde and Shodolu families, traditional ruler HRH Oba Samuel Olukayode Sodinmu, surveyor Azeez Salami, and agents associated with Threeco Construction Company Limited of coordinated intimidation, hooliganism, destruction of construction materials and threats of violence.
One detailed report of a 6 October 2025 visit to the Ifo Area Command described armed young men stationed on the land with machetes and a near-descent into open confrontation after police directed parties to the site without ensuring a controlled interrogation.
Despite repeated formal appeals to Zone 2 for investigation, protection of the complainant’s interest, arrest of culpable persons and restoration of order, the petitions record that the development projects remained stalled and the alleged perpetrators continued to operate with apparent impunity.
Under Nigerian law, obtaining by false pretences, criminal breach of trust, forgery of official documents, criminal intimidation and trespass to land attract serious sanctions under the Criminal Code and the Land Use Act.
The police duty to investigate complaints of this nature and protect citizens’ proprietary rights is foundational. The volume and specificity of the petitions addressed to the Zone 2 AIG’s office, coupled with documented earlier interventions at divisional and state levels that failed to secure lasting possession or full recovery of funds, form the basis of the indictment of the command’s leadership at the material time.
Whether the failure to bring the matters to a conclusive resolution stemmed from capacity constraints, competing priorities or other factors remains a question that only a thorough independent inquiry can answer.
What is clear is that a private citizen who transferred tens of millions of naira for land and development in Ogun State found herself unable to enjoy the fruits of her investment while formal appeals to the highest police authority covering the state went substantially unanswered.
