Featured, Politics
Adron Homes deploy strong-arm tactics in collusion with the Nigerian Police Force to force Bob Ufomadu, chief executive officer of Zuma Rock Products Ltd, to give up his plantain plantation in covering 12 acres of land at Ewu Oje village, Simawa, Ogun State
By Anthony Isibor
BOB Ufomadu, managing director, Zuma Rock Products Ltd, has cried out over the inhuman treatment meted out to him by officials of the Adron Homes and Property Limited in collusion with some policemen in a bid to forcefully take over his 12 acres of land located in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Ufomadu acquired the land from Osogayan Oromuti Oje family resident at number 61 Isote Street, Makun, Sagamu Local Government Area, Ogun State, in 2011 and has a registered conveyance, clear title to prove it.
After acquiring the property, Ufomadu fenced and gated the land which now serves as a plantain plantation with a housing quarter for his staff. In the last 10 years since he bought the land, he has never had any confrontation or litigation with either the community or the Oje family or anyone else in any court in Nigeria until recently when Adron Homes attacked him.
His ordeal in the hands of Adron Homes began on August 4, 2020, when the real estate firm sent people to forcefully remove the boundary fence demarcating his land from the others. This illegal action by Adron Homes which was captured in a video made by Ufomadu’s staff prompted the Adron representative on-site to request a meeting with him.
At the meeting, which held on August 18, 2020, the Adron Homes representative offered to give him 15 acres of land in another area of the same town for Zuma Rock’s 12 acres. Ufomadu immediately refused the offer because he had already spent over N300 million developing the land which is now a plantain plantation. Realnews is in possession of the Adron Homes letter conveying the offer of 15 acres of land to Zuma Rock.
After he rejected the offer, Ufomadu told Realnews that Adron Homes resorted to continuous intimidation, harassment, and threat to his life. According to him, Adron Homes went as far as blocking the general access road to his land and those of other stakeholders in the area, prompting him to make a report at the Sagamu Police Divisional office in December 2020.
But Ufomadu’s nightmares worsened when Adron Homes included the police in the plot to scheme him out of his farmland.
“My ordeal in the hands of Adron Homes and the police started exactly at 8:15 am on the 16th day of March 2021 as I drove out of my house to go and drop my child to school. Not knowing that some unknown people had laid an ambush in front of my street at Otunba Runsewe Street, Journalist Estate Phase 1, Arepo, Ogun State. As I drove out, an Adron Homes branded SUV with plate number KWL-31HC moved to block my path. Before I knew what was happening, two mean-looking men jumped out of the vehicle and asked me to wind down my glass. Instantly, a second vehicle blocked me from the back.
“The only thing that came to my mind was that Adron Homes had sent hired assassins/kidnappers to kill me as we had previously refused their offer on our land located at Ewu Oje village, Simawa, Ogun State. One of them immediately jumped inside my car and forcefully snatched my phone and continued to pin me down in my vehicle,” he narrated.
According to him, he was not whisked away that fateful morning because of neighbors who had gathered because of the commotion in front of his house. “The commotion attracted my neighbors, it was then they were able to prevail on the person that pinned me down to let go my hand. I begged that they should release my phone to enable me to place a call to my legal representative but that fell on deaf ears.
“It took the intervention of one of my neighbors who happen to be the chairman of PCRC, Mrs Olori Nkem Akowe to bring the situation under control. On inquiry, it was discovered that the people did not have the proper authorization as their initial goal was to bundle me to an unknown destination under the guise of coming to serve invitation by IGP Monitoring Team,” he said.
Ufomadu also revealed that the police station which was supposed to overseer the Arepo area was not even aware when all this was happening.
“Mrs. Akowe who placed a call to the DPO found that Wariwa Police Station which has jurisdictions over Arepo was not aware of the said operation. The DPO immediately dispatched two police officers to my house. It was then I agreed to go to the Wariwa Police Station along with Adron Homes vehicle. On arrival at the Wariwa Police Station, the DPO discovered they did not have the necessary authorization to carry out the arrest.
“The DPO directed that she would not release me based on the paper presented. It was then that they left for Abeokuta to perfect their paper. They kept me at Wariwa Police Station from 8 AM to 6 PM. The IPO who kept my phone refused to hand over my phone throughout the whole day thereby crippling my business,” he narrated.
However, the operatives who went to Abeokuta to get the warrant of arrest finally came back to the Wariwa Police station at 6 pm. “I was subsequently released to the IPO, Inspector Abu Sikiru. My legal adviser and my wife inquired where they were taking me to, the IPO deceived my legal adviser and wife directing them to Alagbon, in Ikoyi, not knowing they were actually taking me to Abuja. They drove straight to Muritala Mohammed International Airport and bundled me on a Dana flight to Abuja, that took off at 9.30 pm and landed about 10:45 pm,” Ufomadu said.
Ufomadu narrated how he was exposed to health hazards, saying: “The IPO took me to Zuba Police Station and deposited me in an overcrowded cell and again contrary to taking me to Force Headquarters, Abuja. The only reason the IPO took me there was to dehumanize me and punish me as directed by his paymasters in Adron Homes. This happened even after agreeing and assuring a soft landing at Abuja. Just imagine a (4 x 4) meter cell holding over 30 people overnight, endangering my health especially at this moment of coronavirus pandemic and other airborne diseases.
“The IPO was made aware of my health condition. Nowhere to stand, nowhere to sit, and no light. I will not wish my worst enemy to spend 5 minutes in that cell. This has caused emotional trauma and the experience would remain indelible on my mind for the rest of my life. They denied me access to medication as I am dependent on the daily drug for surgery management which I underwent one month ago. They promised to get the drug when we arrived in Abuja. On arrival at Abuja, they simply took me to the Zuba Police station.
“They did not care about my health conditions; they refused me access to medical services and medication. I was rather forced into the cell without my medication, packed like animals, treated as a criminal on a purported and trumped-up petition when Adron Homes were the ones carrying out illegal activities, trespassing, and threatening us which we have evidence on them,” he said.
According to him, “On March 17, 2021, at 7:30 AM, the IPO came to Zuba Police and took me to the Force Headquarters where I was shown the trumped-up charges Adron Homes brought against me, Mr. Kayode Johnson, and Others … it was then I was allowed to see the petition for the first time and was then asked to respond to the petition. I was later granted bail and requested to come back to Abuja on March 24, 2021. That I should bring all the original papers of my land,” he said.
According to him, the Adron petition was against him and Kayode Johnson and others. But they arrested only him even when Johnson was also present at the Wariwa police station, Ogun State. Johnson was the agent who brokered the land deal for Ufomadu. “It is of interest to note that one of the listed suspects in the purported petition, Mr. Kayode Johnson showed up at Wariwa Police Station, but the IPO did not arrest him. This goes to demonstrate how far Adron Homes in conjunction with Nigerian Police were ready to go to intimidate, harass, and threaten my life just because I refused their offer for my property and they are bent on collecting my land by force.”
Ufomadu further recalled his suffering, saying: “For all the trumped-up allegations, my fundamental human right was trampled upon, mental trauma, my three years old son that was in the car with me was traumatized including the rest of my family, loss of business for 3 days, exposure to health hazard, intimidation and threat to life. All this happened on fabricated charges from Adron Homes and Property Limited all because we refused their relocation offer to give us fifteen acres of land in another location in exchange for our twelve acres which we have spent more than three hundred million Naira over the years developing the farm – Plantain Plantation and vegetables. Since after our meeting in August 2020, they have been using all manner of threats to life and property, SMS messages from known and unknown phone numbers inviting us to meet third parties and so on.”
When Realnews visited the Adron Homes at their head office located at 72a/72b Adeyemi Akapo Street, Omole Residential Scheme, Phase 1, Lagos, to get their side of the story, one of their staff anonymously stated that they were unaware of the development.
According to the official, issues like this may arise when the land in question has been sold to different buyers at different times. She then referred Realnews to their general secretary, whom she said, was in a better position to respond.
The general executive secretary, who simply identified herself as Yemisi agreed to look into the matter but insisted that they had no idea of any complaint by any Bob Ufomadu.
Realnews gathered that Adron Homes usually purchased their properties through the Baale (traditional head of a community in Yoruba) in each location where their properties are situated. The Baale usually serves as a middle man between the company and the owners of the land.
However, the Baale, who is in charge of the area in question declined to comment on the issue, saying that he has been sacked by Adron Homes over the matter and would not want to get involved.
Contrary to the Baale and general executive secretary’s position, Realnews sighted the letter Adron Homes wrote to Zuma Rock Products Limited about the land. The letter was signed by Idris Akande, head of, Legal and Clients Service Department of Adron Homes and Property Limited.
In the letter dated 28 August 2020, and addressed to the managing director of Zuma Rocks Products, Adron Homes clearly stated the reasons for its vested interest in the 12 acres of land belonging to the company.
The major reason is that Adron Homes owned all the lands surrounding the 12 acres of land belonging to Zuma Rocks Products. Also, Adron Homes wanted to take over the 12 acres “in order for same to properly align with our already acquired land bothering and surrounding your land.”
“As a show of faith, we have gone ahead to purchase a-15-acre of land at Agerige Village, Shimawa, Ogun State, a location which is a developed area with case of access road, proper road network, and electricity already. Our company is ready to replace your 12 acres of land with our 15 acres at Agerige, Shimawa, Ogun State,” Adron Homes stated in the letter.
Replying, Zuma Rocks, in its letter dated 28 September 2020, turned down the offer, stating that Adron Homes wrongly assumed that it was going to sell its 12 acres of land when it had not indicated any need to do so. The letter stated that the land was purchased 10 years ago for business purposes, adding that Zuma Rocks had spent huge sums of money both locally and internationally on consultancy service for the project.
The letter also noted Adron Homes’ argument in its proposed letter that its core concern is the fact that it acquired all the lands surrounding its property, adding: “we respectfully do not see it as an obstacle. The town planning authority which approved your surveys is much aware of our own approved survey and should by law provide rights of Ingress and Egress for our holding.”
It, however, urged Adron Homes to “make known all other undisclosed corporate reasons why it was interested in the land as such would enable them to make an appropriate review in light of its commitment to its shareholders, foreign partners, and contractors”.
Ufomadu, who was supposed to return to Abuja on March 24, 2021, along with all the original papers of his land in response to the petition has not been able to so due to health issues. The police have however given him a new date March 31, 2021, to report with documents authenticating his ownership of the land.
As at press time, Realnews was unable to reach Adetola Emmanuel King, group managing director, Adron Homes and Property Limited, for his comment. Several calls on his phone went through but he neither picked nor returned calls from Realnews.
– Mar. 30, 2021 @ 15:42 GMT |
A.I
Tags: Adron Homes BOB Ufomadu Osogayan Oromuti Oje Zuma Rock Products Ltd
