The Ogun State Government has intervened in a disputed property ownership case involving a businesswoman, Damilola Adisa, and a suspected land grabber, Najeem Osolake, following a report by Sunday PUNCH.
Osolake was arrested by the Ogun State Task Force on illegalities and charged to court over alleged illegal activities after the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade, ordered his arrest in August.
Adisa had alleged in an interview with Sunday PUNCH on July 26, 2026, that Osolake attempted to take over her late father’s property in Ibafo, Ogun State, despite the family possessing valid ownership documents.
She also claimed that her father’s grave was on the disputed land and that Osolake threatened to kill her and her siblings if they refused to relinquish the property.
Recounting how the dispute began, Adisa said she received information that workers had entered the property to commence construction.
According to her, the workers, accompanied by thugs, had already demolished part of her father’s grave when she and her family arrived.
“Somebody called us that some people were working on my daddy’s land,” she said during the interview.
“So, when we got there, we met labourers and thugs trying to lay a foundation on the land. They had already demolished part of my father’s grave.”
She said the matter was initially reported to the Ibafo Police Station, where Osolake was arrested but subsequently released.
Adisa alleged that he failed to present ownership documents and threatened the family in the presence of police officers.
“They asked for his documents, but he couldn’t produce any. He threatened that he was ready to go to court. The man threatened to kill us in the presence of the police, yet they freed him,” she alleged.
Ogungbade, who confirmed the government’s intervention in separate telephone interviews to The Punch on Saturday, said Osolake was taken to Abeokuta and charged to court after his arrest.
He explained that the suspect was advised to pursue any legitimate claim to the property through the courts rather than resort to force.
“After he was arrested, some non-governmental organisations, lawyers, and his children reached out to us because he was remanded, and we charged him to court.
“He was brought down to Abeokuta. We let him know that if you believe that you have a legitimate claim to the land rather than going there to throw down structures, you should approach the court.
“This woman has been on the land. Her father had been on the land for some years. He had a structure on it, he died, and was buried on that land.”
The commissioner said Osolake was remanded for 60 days before the matter was settled out of court following appeals from his children, who signed undertakings that their father would not trespass on the property or threaten its owners.
Explaining the decision to withdraw the case, Ogungbade said the suspect’s children advised him to abandon his claim to the land, while the family’s longstanding occupation of the property informed the mediation process.
“His children advised their father to forget that land and to forget whatever claims that he said he had, because truly those people had been on the land for some time.”
“They undertook that their father would not disturb those people on the land again. So based on that, and the fact that he was said to be about 70 years old, I felt that we could achieve common ground by this mediation. So I withdrew the matter, and he was released.”
Ogungbade added that although the criminal charge had been withdrawn, it could be reinstated if Osolake returned to threaten or disturb the property owners.
He said Adisa had expressed concern that the suspect might return but maintained that, to his knowledge, Osolake had not gone back to the land.
“That’s how it is. Though Ms. Adisa was a bit apprehensive that he might still come back, as far as I know, I don’t think he has gone back there to disturb them again. I told her that if he shows up again, she should just let me know. We have withdrawn the criminal charge, but of course we can reinstate it if he goes there to threaten the owners,” he said.
Adisa praised The PUNCH for bringing her complaint to public attention, saying the report prompted government intervention and marked her first experience of obtaining justice since her father died in 2015.
“I’ve never felt this way before in my life. It feels so good. I was treated well by PUNCH for helping me get justice from the government. The state government and the Commissioner for Justice did so well. This is the first time I’ll get justice since my father died in 2015,” she said.
