Land-grabbing: Ogun protests alleged police interference

The Ogun State Government has condemned what it described as the unnecessary interference of police officers attached to the Force Intelligence Department, Abuja, in an ongoing criminal case of land grabbing instituted by the state government against two defendants, Ibrahim Gbenga Ibuoye and Taiwo Ibrahim, currently pending before the Magistrates’ Court in Ota.

This was contained in a petition dated May 23, 2026, addressed to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Force Intelligence Department, Abuja, AIG Enyinnaya Adiogu, and signed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Sina Ogungbade (SAN).

Copies of the petition were also sent to Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, and the Police Service Commission.

The state government expressed concern that, despite repeated warnings from police leadership that cases should be investigated within the jurisdiction where alleged offences occurred, unless expressly approved by the office of the Inspector-General of Police, some officers had continued to interfere in established legal procedures, thereby abusing office and attempting to compromise the administration of justice.

It warned that such actions undermine investigations, cause unnecessary delays, and erode public confidence in the police, noting that the Inspector-General had consistently emphasised transparency, professionalism, and accountability in investigations.

Ogungbade stated that: “The thrust of the case against the defendants is that in and around 2007, World Mission Agency bought the land in question from a family that was declared the lawful owner of the land by the High Court of Ogun State in 2001.

“World Mission Agency, which has been on contiguous land for decades, proposed to use the land as the agricultural department of Covenant University, a tertiary institution that was founded on adjoining land in 2002.

“World Mission Agency has a Certificate of Occupancy on the land and has fenced it around. However, the defendants, without colour of right or legal justification, demolished the fence, entered over 100 acres of the land and devastatingly degraded the land through illegal sand mining.

“These were the facts uncovered during the investigation that led to the charge filed. As such, Ibrahim Gbenga Ibuoye is an accused land grabber in Ogun State. He stands accused of illegal use and deliberate and malicious damage to the land.

“He is also accused of using heavily armed persons to perpetrate his activities on the land in question and was caught on camera doing so. At this stage, the only way for this individual to exonerate himself is in a court of law, not by seeking refuge in a parallel police office.”

The Attorney-General maintained that the law is clear that once a case is pending in court, no action should be taken that is capable of usurping the jurisdiction of the court.

“How is it that a defendant who has been charged since 2025 (at least five months ago) now suddenly conceives a case against his complainants in that pending charge in May 2026?

“Clearly, the allegation in your office is contrived to undermine the criminal charge pending against the defendants,” he stated.

He added that while the police have statutory powers to invite and interview persons, they must not be used as a tool to harass prosecution witnesses in a pending matter.

He further argued that the summoning of officials of World Mission Agency to the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja amounted to intimidation and a breach of Section 133(6) of the Criminal Code Act, which prescribes a three-month imprisonment for such violations.

The state government also expressed concern over what it described as interference by officers outside the state in a matter already being handled within Ogun State, especially at a time of heightened security challenges.

“It baffles the mind that any police officer in the FCT would presume to understand the security challenges of the state better than the agents on the ground in the state; or that officers in the FCT would arrogate to themselves the capacity to resolve crimes remotely from Abuja without so much as a visit to the state,” it stated.

The government insisted it would not allow any action capable of reversing gains made in the fight against land grabbing in the state.

Ogungbade therefore demanded immediate steps to terminate what he described as a parallel investigation into the dispute, suspend further invitations to complainants or victims in the matter, and comply strictly with directives of the Inspector-General of Police.

He warned that failure to comply would compel the state government to initiate legal action against the officers involved and petition the Police Service Commission.