Protesters storm Akure over alleged abduction of Ondo monarchs
By Boye Oyeyemi –
Tension gripped Akure on Tuesday as residents and farmers from five communities in Ondo East Local Government Area protested the alleged abduction of two monarchs and the forceful takeover of their ancestral lands.
The protesters, drawn from Italemikan, Abusoro, Ateru, Igbomowo, and Uloko Agbonden, marched to the Governor’s Office with placards bearing inscriptions such as “Free Our Obas Now”, “We Say No to Land Grabbing”, and “We Want Justice for Our Communities”.
They accused one Ojo Ajisafe of terrorising their communities with armed men and using security operatives to intimidate and unlawfully detain those who resisted his alleged land encroachment.
Spokesman for the protesters, Mr Kokuma Isaac Akinwande, said the monarchs, the Olu of Igba, Oba Shina Olayele, and the Olu of Uloko Agbonden, HRH Moses Awonusi Apalara, were “framed” and remanded in prison through Ajisafe’s influence.
“We are here because of Ojo Ajisafe. He is a notorious land grabber. He came to our land claiming his father owns everything from Ita Ila to Oboto—we have never seen him before,” Akinwande said.
Another protester, identified as Ajibola, said the communities had earlier sent petitions to the governor, the Chief Judge, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly without any response.
“We don’t want violence or crisis in our land. That is why we came peacefully to seek government intervention,” he said.
As of press time, the state government had yet to react to the protest or make an official statement on the matter.
