- The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, has received a report from the anti-land grabbing committee established in 2025
- The report recommends legal backing through local government bye-laws to combat land grabbing.
- The proposed laws will create special tribunals for faster adjudication of land disputes
The Oba Rashidi Ladoja has received the report of a committee set up to tackle land grabbing in Ibadan, proposing the introduction of legal backing to address the menace.
The monarch received the report from the Niyi Akintola Anti-Land Grabbing Committee at the Olubadan Palace in Oke-Aremo, located within Ibadan North Local Government Area.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Adeola Oloko, Olubadan explained that the proposed framework would involve local government councils enacting bye-laws in line with the Land Use Act.
These laws, he said, would establish special tribunals to ensure speedy trials of land-grabbing cases and enforce strict penalties.
“The proposed legal framework would entail passing of bye-laws by the Local Government councillors, in accordance with the Land Use Act, to spell out the creation of special tribunals that would give accelerated hearing to cases of land grabbing in Ibadan, and specify sanctions,” Ladoja stated.
The committee was inaugurated on October 15, 2025, with a mandate to address land grabbing and related offences from a legal standpoint. It includes prominent legal practitioners such as Niyi Akintola and Musibau Adetunbi, alongside other members.
Ladoja noted that the committee had been granted the authority to engage professionals across various sectors, including town planning, surveying, security agencies, and the judiciary, to strengthen its work.
Expressing concern over the persistence of land grabbing, the monarch issued a stern warning to offenders.
“We have come to a situation where suspected land grabbers should know that enough is enough. We were investigating a land matter in this palace last week. Somebody brought what he called a 1912 Supreme Court judgment to say that the land at Alapa to Maamu, Oluyole Local Government, belonged to his family.
“And we told him that the Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated in 1914. Your court judgment predates Nigeria.
“Therefore, it is fake. 1912 to 2025 is over 100 years. A lawyer amongst us was asking him if he didn’t know that it is wrong to seek to implement a court judgment after ten years it was delivered. Same thing with fake survey plans and funny, funny petitions.
“How can somebody living in Ibadan sell off some people’s land in Ibadan and use an address in Osogbo, Osun State, to petition the Inspector-General of Police in Abuja to allege threat to life, gun running, terrorism. I think there should be punishment against fake petitioners.”
He added that the committee’s work had generated significant public interest, making it necessary for tribunal members to be individuals of proven integrity.
“The tremendous amount of public interest generated by the committee made the composition of the proposed tribunals with men and women of proven integrity imperative,” Ladoja stated.
The monarch also highlighted the negative impact of land grabbing on investment in Ibadan, noting that the extent of the damage was difficult to quantify.
He further warned that Mogajis, Baales, and other traditional title holders found culpable would face strict sanctions.
Ladoja commended the committee members for their dedication, saying the city remained grateful for their efforts.
Earlier, the committee chairman, Akintola, disclosed that the panel received 179 memoranda, in addition to about 25 submissions still with the Palace Secretary.
He described land grabbers as highly organised groups with deep connections across key government institutions and agencies.
“This was why we engaged the State Government, Local Government chairmen, police, lawyers, judges, town planners, surveyors, Ministry of Lands, estate developers, Baales, Mogajis, etc. Your Imperial Majesty, we don’t want to pronounce judgment, but the system stinks,” he lamented.
Akintola added that submissions originating outside Ibadan were returned, as the committee’s mandate was limited to the city.