The administration of Fountain University in Osogbo, Osun State, has expressed concern about the actions of suspected land grabbers who are allegedly selling land belonging to the university to unsuspecting members of the public.
The institution has urged President Bola Tinubu, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, and Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun to take action and put an end to the illicit actions.
On Thursday, the Registrar, Mr Sheriff Adenekan, told journalists on the university campus in Osogbo that armed hoodlums, acting on behalf of suspected land grabbers, were selling parts of the institution’s 124.349 hectares of land at the Agric Farm Settlement area in Oke Osun, Osogbo.
Adenekan claimed that whenever the situation was reported to the police, some university employees were detained rather than the true culprits, accusing the police of complicity in the incident.
He sought immediate action from both the federal and state governments to avoid further encroachment on the institution’s property.
He highlighted that the institution had legitimately bought the site and had all necessary paperwork, including a Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Osun State Ministry of Lands on January 5, 2006.
“It was stunning when, in October 2024, certain persons assaulted the land and violently gained admission. The land grabbers, operating in a conspiracy gangster way, destroyed the university’s signposts and other valuables before fraudulently selling the land to unsuspecting bidders.
“The university reported the incident to the nearest police station, and the matter was eventually escalated to the Zone 11 Police Headquarters in Osogbo.” However, it was upsetting that university employees were arrested and charged by the same police officers to whom we had reported the offense,” Adenekan stated.
He urged Tinubu, Adeleke, and other relevant authorities to step in and provide protection for the university, its workers, and its property against non-state actors who had illegally invaded the area and continued their activities unabated.
“It is important to emphasize that no court has invalidated the university’s title to the land. The university has held extensive meetings with community leaders, elders, and other stakeholders regarding this concerning development, yet the land grabbers’ operations continue unabated,” he stated.
When contacted, Ade Ogunyemi, the Public Relations Officer of Zone XI Command in Osogbo, disputed the allegations and challenged the institution to explain the cases it had identified as improperly handled.
Ogunyemi replied, “That is impossible. We do not make any compromises here. They should offer clear facts about the situations they reported and the claims that were made against them. I guarantee to investigate and identify the IPOs involved in the incidents. We don’t make any compromises here.”