The people of Agolisa Amudipe community, also known as Okelisa Titun in Akure South Local government area of Ondo State has come public to make the record straight on the protracted battle on the land between them and the Williams Faleye/Arijobi family.
Going down the memory lane, as relayed to journalists by the Olu of Agolisa Amudipe community, High Chief Adekunle Ajanaku, the said area was given to their forefather, Late High Chief Olisa Gabriel Amudipe in the late 1890s by the Paramount ruler of Akure land, Deji Odundun 1.
Late High Chief Gabriel Olisa was named Amudipe by Deji Odundun 1, being the nephew of the king, as the direct son of Iralepo Aisiwonmoyede Aladelola of Isinkan Akure. He therefore, inherited the area, first known as Ponna Nla Uwaji with the help of the monarch.
The following Deji, Oba Afunbiowo Adesida 1 gave Amudipe a traditional title called ‘Olisa of Akure Kingdom which is the second in xcommand to the Deji. Consequently, Ponna Nla Uwaji was renamed Ago-Olisa community to reflect his traditional title.
He was said to had settled on the land with another 48 friends and relatives who formed different communities around him, and their generation lived peacefully in the area for over 100 years before his demise in 1955. It was, however, after his death that Faleye/Arijobi family trespassed and started harassing the residents, which was noticed by Amudipe’s children in 1967, a development that led to court litigation.
Records show that the daughter of Amudipe, Madam Oni , who later became the Regent of Agolisa community after the demise of her father, had flled a case of trespass before the Customary Court in 1969 concerning the ownership of the land when the said family rose against them.
In the suit No AKA/21CL/69, the Amudipe’s family was declared the rightful owner of the environment in 1972.
Not pleased with the judgement, the Faloye/Arijobi family appealed the case before the High Court in suit No AK/28A/72 on the grounds that one of their key evidence was not admitted by the Customary Court.
In his judgement, Justice F B Wickliffe allowed their appeal and ordered a retrial by another panel of Customary Court Jugdes to enable Williams Faleye/Arijobi family present the said evidence for consideration.
Since 1974 till date, the embattled family failed to present the said evidence in any court to invalidate the Customary Court judgement.
In her quest to secure and protect her family heritage from grabbers, Madam Oni took a step further to approach the Western State Court of Appeal which also upheld the High Court decision for retrial at the Customer Court.
Amudipe’s appeal at the Supreme Court was also struck out on the grounds that it was filed out of time, and Faleye/Arijodi family never went back to Customary Court to present their evidence as declared by the courts.
“Therefore, Amudipe and other associated families remained on their lands and farms till sometime in 2008 when another family called Oluloye family of Isinkan which claimed to be the offshoot of Faleye/Arijodi family resumed their trespass on the land by forcefully carrying out perimeter survey”, says the head of the Amudipe’s community.
Information has it that, this family had been carrying out numerous baseless technicalities and falsehood to grab the land , and this prompted the Olu of Amudipe to petitioned the Police and also approached the high court again in 2012.
The court again ruled that both parties should go back for retrial at the Customary Court as earlier declared by previous courts. To end the battle once and for all, the Amudipes filed another case at the Customary Court to compel the Faleye/Arijodi family, now Oluloye of Isinkan to come and prove their case with the evidence they claimed to have, but they rather opposed the suit on the grounds that it was statute barred.
Their statute barred objection was therefore dismissed by the Customary Court in 2014. They appealed it at the Federal Court of Appeal and the court allowed their appeal on Statute of Limitation only, and didn’t give judgement on ownership.
The Amudipe’s family in their desire to ensure that the other family present the said evidence of ownership, appealed the statute barred limitation ruling before the Supreme Court in 2019 but Faleye/Oluloye family have been evading service of the Apex Court.
The Amudipe’s family was however shocked about the role of the State Ministry of Physical Planning by giving a layout approval to the other family in 2019.
They were wondering on what basis, the ministry acted to issue such when the issue was already before the Apex Court.
To this end, having realised that one Chief Niyi Nelly a, PDP stalwart, and Chief Sina Omotayo who led the Oluloye family bought their way into the Ministry to forcefully grab their forefather’s inheritance, they quickly wrote a Save our Souls letter to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN.
The Amudipe’s family are still wondering why their ancestral land of over 100 years would be ceded to a family without traditional claims, and at the same time waiting for the governor’s response when Police officers from the AIG’s office Osogbo came over on Thursday May 13th, 2020 to raid the community and arrested some residents.
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