A controversy has erupted over the alleged unlawful takeover of 200 acres of land belonging to Zee International Ltd, a prominent business entity, by the Oyo State Government.
According to a statement signed by Strict Attorneys, Solicitors to Zee International Ltd, the government has embarked on “clandestine maneuvers” to destroy the company’s title and facilitate the unlawful theft of its ancestral investment.
The statement alleges that the government, acting through its officials, particularly the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, has received huge sums of money from certain Indian interests for the purported “development” of the company’s property without its knowledge, consent, or authorization.
The statement released by Strict Attorneys read thus: “We act as Solicitors to Zee International Ltd, the bona fide owner and possessor of 200 acres within the precincts now dubiously paraded as part of the so-called “Oluyole Free Trade Zone.” Our client has been in lawful ownership and uninterrupted possession of this land for several years, fortified by plenary and incontestable documentary evidence, and have maintained peaceable possession without disturbance from any quarters until the present acts of brazen impunity.
“It has now come to our attention that the Oyo State Government, acting through its officials, particularly the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, has embarked on clandestine maneuvers calculated to destroy our client’s title, falsify history, and facilitate the unlawful theft of our client’s ancestral investment. Even more alarming is the revelation, supported by credible intelligence, and evidenced by press release that the State Government has allegedly received huge sums of money from certain Indian interests for the purported “development” of our client’s property without their knowledge, consent, or authorization.
“We must state emphatically: they cannot give what they do not have. The grand ceremony recently staged and publicized—where Oyo State officials purportedly handed over 500 hectares to Universal FMCG Nigeria Unlimited—is nothing short of an exercise in futility. It is a classic attempt to transfer stolen goods under the guise of governance. No free trade zone, no industrial hub, no investor, foreign or local, can acquire peaceable possession of land that is already privately owned and protected under the Nigerian Constitution.
“Our client warns prospective buyers, developers, and financiers in the strongest possible terms: BEWARE. Any venture, transaction, or development embarked upon over our client’s land will be built on sinking sand and fraught with irreversible legal peril. We shall deploy the full arsenal of the law to punctuate this charade, expose the unconstitutionality of the government’s actions, and vindicate our client’s rights.
“History has taught us that governments come and go, but the consequences of injustice remain indelible. We urge the Oyo State Government to retrace its steps, abandon this path of impunity and illegality, and engage our client transparently. Otherwise, we are prepared to meet them in the courts of law, the courts of equity, and the court of public opinion, until justice is restored.”
