JUST IN: Land Grabbers Invade Ondo Community, Residents Protest

In protest of some alleged land grabbers invading their land, residents of the Aponmu village in Akure South Local Government Area, Ondo State, invaded the governor’s office on Monday in Alagbaka, Akure, the state capital.

They claimed that the invaders attacked those who resisted and destroyed their crops, especially their cocoa plantation.

“Mr. Governor, please save our soul, we are suffering” is one of the messages written on the demonstrators’ signs. “Please, Mr. Governor, assist us.” “Land grabbers have taken over our Coca farms.”

To prevent violence in the neighborhood, they thus urged Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to save them from the intruders.

Pastor Tope Akinkuade, the demonstrators’ leader, clarified that the locals are being harassed by the purported land grabbers as they destroy their crops without consequence.

The farmers revealed that any farmer who attempted to oppose the invaders would be attacked by armed thugs.

The protesting farmers wrote to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa via his Special Advisor (Special Duties), Bola Taiwo, pleading for him to step in and stop additional damage to their farms, which could lead to bloodshed in the neighborhood.

“This is to inform Your Excellency of an imminent threat to peace in Aponmu, arising from possible confrontation with land grabbers operating in the community, which may lead to a breakdown of law and order,” the letter said in part.

“Aponmu is a multiethnic hamlet that has been home to several ethnic groups from Nigeria for more than a century, with a focus on cocoa growing. Cocoa plantations are the sole source of income for a large number of people.