•As Church Refutes Allegation
The residents and landlords of Maba town, in the Asheshe Area of Ogun State, have alleged Deeper Christian Life Ministry to have engaged the community in a land dispute over a boundary point they share.
Maba Community shares a boundary with the church where the campsite is situated.
The residents alleged the church had, on Jan 31, mobilised armed thugs and policemen to invade their peaceful community and inflicted injuries as they destroyed their properties worth millions of Naira.
The Chairman of Unity Estate, Mr. Richard Omoniyi, addressing newsmen at the scene of the demolition, said in an attempt to get the matter resolved amicably without violence, the landlords wrote to the church headquarter in the Gbagada area of Lagos State, and when there was no response, the community approached the Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta.
Omoniyi said Justice O. Ogunfowora, in a suit number, AB/131/2021, had restrained the Incorporated Trustees Of Deeper Christian Life Ministry and one Franklyn Osezua who were both the defendants in the suit from further demolishing any house at Unity Estate, Maba Town.
According to him, the judge ordered that no one should bring caterpillars, thugs, or anybody into the land in dispute, building, constructing, or forcefully taking over the land in dispute lying, being, and situated at Jekayinfa Arigbabu Family Land, now known as Unity Estate, Maba Town, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The chairman said that the court further restrained the defendants' agents, workmen, or anybody acting under their instruction from further disturbing the 73 Claimants' possession and or from further demolishing any of their houses at Unity Estate, Maba Town.
He said: “It, however, turns to a twist of event, despite subsisting order and ongoing trial when the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, stormed the community and disobeyed the order of the court.
“There were a series of efforts made by the landlords to engage the church before approaching the court for justice after several encroachments because our land is captured in Survey Plan No. EMS/OG2009/082, dated 11-10-2009, drawn by a registered surveyor, Mr. E.0. Adeleye.
“After acquiring our land and collecting all necessary documents, the landlords registered the Unity Estate as a Community Development Association with the Ogun State Ministry of Community Development and Cooperatives.
“At no time did any of the government agencies raise the contention that their document is not genuine or where we intended to register belonged to another person,”
The former Chairman of the Peace Estate, beside Unity, who was also affected by the encroachment, Mr. Kunle Oluwatuyi, said that the church used a judgment they secured against a company that intruded on the church land against them.
“The distance between the affected company and their land is more than six-acre, coupled with the fact that there is a natural boundary demarcation between Maba town and the other community that sold land to the church,” Oluwatoyin said.
One of the victims, Mr. John Ignatius, whose house was demolished, recounted how he was allegedly manhandled and thrown on the floor with a bulldozer, thereby causing him bodily harm.
“As you can see my soak away, it is already broken. They used bulldozers to destroy it. Several edifices and our farms are destroyed, some of our landlords who have been rendered homeless are taking shelter under the sky beside their demolished houses,” he said.
In reaction to the allegation, the spokesperson of the church, Pastor Segun Babatope, said that the Maba Residents took over the church's land.
“Ask the residents if they have the Certificate of Ownership.
“You all know the church for holiness, and we shall call a press conference on Sunday to address the issue,” Babatope said.
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