Ogun State takes action against land grabber after report

Ogun State Government has stepped in over a land dispute involving businesswoman Damilola Adisa and a suspected land grabber, Najeem Osolake. Osolake was arrested and taken to court by the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice due to his illegal actions, following a report by Sunday PUNCH.

In an interview on July 26, 2026, Adisa claimed that Osolake went to her late father’s property in Ibafo and threatened to take it over. She pointed out that she has valid documents for the land and that her father’s grave is located there. Adisa said that the suspected land grabber also threatened to kill her and her siblings if they did not give up the property.

“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.”

The Ibafo Police Station first handled the case. They arrested Osolake but later released him. Adisa said, “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.”

After the report, the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Oluwasina Ogungbade, instructed the Ogun State Task Force on illegalities to arrest Osolake in early August. He was later charged in court. This was shared with Sunday PUNCH by Ogungbade and Adisa during separate phone calls on Saturday.

“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 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.”

Osolake was remanded for 60 days but later settled out of court after pleas from his children. They signed agreements that their father would not go near the property or threaten the owners. The commissioner explained why Osolake settled, saying, “His children advised their father to forget that land and to forget whatever claims 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.”

Adisa expressed some worry that he might return, but Ogungbade assured her, “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.”

Adisa thanked Sunday PUNCH for helping her voice reach the state government. She said this was her first experience getting 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.