Ondo court resolves 100-year-old land dispute

An Ondo State High Court has described land in Igbokoda, the
headquarters of the oil-rich Ilaje Local Government area of the
State as belonging to residents of the community.

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.”

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