Ondo court resolves 100-year-old land dispute

This verdict by Justice Bode Adegbehingbe, however laid to rest 100 years of dispute over ownership of Igbokoda, an island in the oil-rich region. The suit began in 1917 between Kalasuwe of Apoinland and Amapetu of Mahin. The dispute among several interested people over the land had led to death of many and loss of property worth millions of Naira. In fact, the Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo was injured and his vehicles damaged when the crisis broke out in the town. The Mahin people of Ilaje Local Government and the Apoi in Eseodo Local Government were initially at each other’s throat over the ownership of the land. The Provincial Court decided it in favour of Amapetu. Years, after the Provincial Court decided the case, the Amapetu of Mahin, the Olu of Igbokoda and other indigenous people of the Island were in dispute over ownership of the island community. The latest dispute started in 2006 during the dualisation of Igbokoda/Ayetoro road. The Amapetu, Olu of Igbokoda and indigenous people wanted to benefit from the money to be paid by the company handling the project. But Justice Adegbehingbe, who gave his verdict on the age-long dispute, conferred the ownership of all the land between Rivers Oluwa and Ofara on the Igbokoda community as a communal land. Justice Adegbehingbe said that the ownership of a piece of land between the Rivers Oluwa and Ofara in the Okitipupa Division of old Ondo province had been in dispute between the various people of the Ilaje and Ese Odo area of the present Ondo State for over a century. According to him, the dispute was first brought before the Colonial Provincial court in 1917 when Oba Jubo, the Kalasuwe and paramount ruler of Ijaw-Apoi sued Oba Omowole the Amapetu of Mahin, claiming declaration of title of the piece or parcel of land known as Igbokoda being all the land between the rivers Oluwa and Ofara (Orere-Ara). The provincial court in 1917 decided the case in favour of the Amapetu of Mahin. However, the Apoi descendants of Oba Jubo again in 1974 sued the people of Igbokoda, claiming ownership of part of the land. Also, another dispute pitched the Lebile family of Igbokoda against the Registered Trustees of the Cherubim. The case got to the Supreme Court and was decided in favour of the Mahin people. In 2006, the Igbokoda community sued Setraco construction company, claiming compensation for some of the community’s property destroyed in the construction of the Igbokoda/Aiyetoro road. But the Agbeni and Temetan families filled counterclaims that the areas traversed by the road belonged to their families which they insisted got the land through the Amapetu of Mahin. Reviewing the previous judgments and the recent one filed in 2006, Justice Adegbehingbe ruled that the judgment of the courts conferred ownership of all the land between Rivers Oluwa and Ofara on the Igbokoda community as communal land. The suit of 2006 has Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, Revd Samuel Ayodele, for themselves and on behalf of Igbokoda/Mahin Ilaje Community, Mr Gbadebo Ogunsemore for himself and on behalf of Logbosere family Orere-Ara, Mr Olu Towolawi, Richard Baba Agba for themselves and on behalf of Orere-Ara community and High Chief Arowojolu for himself and on behalf of the Asarton family Orere-Ara while Chief Estrome Agbeni is the counterclaimant in the suit. The court in its verdict held that” it is therefore apparent that the Supreme Court, a superior court of record, applied the customary rule that Igbokoda land is communally owned. “This court is therefore empowered to hold, and it hereby holds, that land in Igbokoda is communally owned. “With the tendering of the judgement of the Supreme Court, the fact that land in Igbokoda ( as shown edged red in the Survey Plan exhibit D95) is communally owned has been proved by the first and second defendants to the counter-claim. “There is also nowhere in the judgments cited and tendered where the courts held that the Amapetu of Mahin personally owns any land in Igbokoda. “The sole prayer brought by the counter-claimant (Agbeni family) for determination of title is therefore without merit. “The court, therefore, dismissed the counter-claims of the Temetan and Agbeni families.”]]>