The Olu of Orile Ilawo, Oba Professor Alexander Olusegun MacGregor has ordered the seal of Ile Ogboni house located at Ilawo, Abeokuta, Ogun State
The order followed the removal of some Ogboni Chiefs following their alleged illegal involvement in the sales of some lands belonging to the community.
The temporary seal which was carried out by the Amotekun Security Network on the order of Oba MacGregor was according to the Kabiyesi to avert breakdown of law and order.
It could be recalled that Oba MacGregor on Saturday pronounced the removal of Oluwo of Ilawo, Chief Samson Oluwole Dosunmu; Chief Adebayo Soyoye, the Balogun of Ilawo; Jagunna of Ilawo, Chief Fatai Sodimu and seven others as Chiefs of Ilawo following their alleged involvement in the sales of not less than 1600 acres of land belonging to Ilawo Community.
The sale of the lands which has generated a lot of reactions by the indigenes of Ilawo led to the removal of the Ten Chiefs.
But to avert the breakdown of law and order Chief Olufemi Adebayo, the Baale of Maro, who led the team of some Amotekun security network to Ile Ogboni Ilawo on the order of Oba MacGregor, warned against illegal occupation of the place.
He said the town owns Ile Ogboni, and Kabiyesi Oba MacGregor by the Ogun State Obaship and Chieftaincy law of 2024 is the prescribed authority for the Ilawo both home and abroad, and as the father of law, he would not allow breakdown of law and order in his domain.
When Our Correspondent visited the Ile Ogboni Ilawo, the place remained under lock. Few of the Amotekun saw on ground said their job is to maintain peace and as an organization that is saddled with maintenance of law, the Outfit will remain neutral in all issues that have to do with Chieftaincy matters.
While reacting, some of the community members hailed the decision of their king, the Olu of Orile Ilawo for removing the chiefs who have sold almost half of the community lands to strangers.
Mrs Lateefat Kadejo while speaking said he is very happy for the prompt action taken by Oba MacGregor in removing those mischievous chiefs, saying they had been tarnishing the image of Ilawo for so long.
“I was born and bred in Ilawo, many of the chiefs selling our lands are strangers, and never thought of the hazards in selling our lands to strangers. Their plan is to send the indigenes away from our source, we will not allow them.
Another community member who identifies herself as Morenikeji Adunni from Aroworeyin compound said “Some Youth have divided this town into two, and the king needs to take necessary action to stop them. It’s so disheartening that those we called the face of our town, I mean the chiefs are the ones that want to send us on exile, they want to take our heritage and hometown from us.
“If they are not stopped, there will be no place to call our home or villages again. We will now continue to wander on another man’s land, this should not be allowed because we are proud Ilawo citizens.”
One of the chiefs who do not want to be mentioned said “I have been hearing about the chiefs selling the land, my land too was part of the land they sold to these strangers. I told them they should come and let us negotiate, because we don’t sell lands in Ilawo, we rather lease it out, but they did not listen.
“They also alleged to me that I have collected millions of naira, I am saying it openly that I did not collect money from anybody from the land they sold. I am so pleased that Kabiyesi removed those chiefs, and I want Kabiyesi to help us redeem our land from them.”
Comrade Muheedeen, the Ilawo Alagbagba Youth leader in his own reaction said there is nothing wrong in Oba MacGregor’s action in sacking the chiefs, because they’ve nearly sold all our town to strangers, which we must not fold our alms.
“Many people have died on the issue. They just came in the name of the town and started overtaking our land with full force and armed men. They destroyed farmlands and other properties on our land, and send us away”
