“The first judgement that the Alawe of Awe received was in 1986, after which he appealed . If he had won at the first court, would he have appealed again? The appeal suit filed by the Alawe is still pending in court. Besides, in all these suits, I was neither joined nor any of the Alaafin’s provincial militias . So, where did he (the Alaawe) get his court judgement to demolish other people’s properties? “…… Chief Lateef Busari, Baale Kiyeseni.
Communal clashes arisen from boundary disputes in Nigeria is not a new phenomenon. But over the years, governments at the Federal, State and Local levels are failing to nip the situation in the bud.
The boundary disputes between Oyo and Afijio people is gradually snowballing into full blown war unless concerned authorities take the bull by the horn, shun partisanship, and take stern measures to check terror acts being unleashed by monarchs and Baales in Afijio against the people of Oyo residing within the disputed territory .
There are seven satellite communities with the acronym known as AFIJIO that constitute Oyo Federal Constituency .
They include, Awe, Fiditi, Ilora, Imini, Jobele , Iware, and Oluwatedo.
Within these communities are over 700 villages and hamlets that are dominantly indigenes of Oyo known as Oyo Homesteads .
These Oyo homesteads were moved to their settlements by the Alaafin of Oyo and had been living harmoniously there dated back to the Oyo Empire period, and before the emergence of Afijio communities.
To safeguard and ensure wellbeing of the Oyo homesteads, the Alaafin appointed provincial militias namely, the Akoda, Onidese and lately the Baale of Kiyeseni.
It is, however, disheartening and painful to hear that properties, including residential buildings and farmlands with cash and food crops, belonging to these three Chiefs had been destroyed by Head of the Awe community, the Alawe of Awe who was said to have acted on the purported ruling of a court.
Before destructions of the Chiefs belongings , they were first banished from their domain along with their families, and their residential buildings also sealed up by hired armed hoodlums numbering about a hundred .
In an exclusive chat with one of the Chiefs, the Baale of Kiyeseni, Chief Lateef Busari, who narrated his ordeal, said in August last year, he saw some hoodlums who stormed his vicinity at Kiyeseni village and were pasting a court judgement .
He stated that he immediately contacted his lawyer to inform him and that his counsel immediately wrote a letter to the Alawe of Awe town , but without response.
Chief Busari went further , ” on the 18th of January , 2024, I received some calls in Oyo town that my houses were being sealed. The following day, my wife called me where I was attending a meeting, sobering with tears and informed the armed hoodlums, numbering about a hundred in a convoy of pick up vehicles and accompanied by some Chiefs from Awe town had stormed our residence with a bulldozer for demolition.
“I immediately informed other Chiefs at the meeting who received it with shock and left for the Oyo Area Police Commander’s office to lodge a complaint. I did not meet the Area Commander in the office , but his Assistant advised me not to go to the village at that moment. All my five residential buildings were demolished, farmlands with food and cash crops destroyed. Working tools bought for my daughter after completion of her apprenticeship training in hairdressing were also destroyed. Despite my passionate appeal from my wife , it fell on deaf ears “.
Chief Busari further hinted that the next day, he proceeded to the village to assess the damages of his property and later left for the Police Station located at Awe town near Kiyeseni to lodge a complaint .
” Though the Police came to the village , but forced my wife into their vehicle and whisked her away . All efforts to resist her being whisked away were to no avail . I later took my car and followed them to the station.
“Before getting to the Police station, I called the Assistant to the Police Area Commander to let him know what was happening . Shortly after getting to the station , the Assistant to the Area Commander also joined us . But I was disappointed to see that rather that for the Assistant to the Area Commander to order the release of my wife who was put behind the bars, inspite of the grievous injustice inflicted on us by the Alawe and his council, he did not do so , but addressing other issue .
” The police said head of the Awe community ( Alaawe ) told them that he took the action based on the court order he sought”.
” One house belonging to Oniderr was demolished and four belonging to Akoda were also destroyed.”
Wife of Chief Busari, Mrs Samurst who corroborated what her husband narrated , added in an interview that ” crops destroyed on their large hectares of farmland included Coco’s, yams, plantains and cassava”.
Chief Busari also said, ” the first judgement that the Alawe of Awe received was in 1986, after which he appealed . If he had won at the first court, would he have appealed again? The appeal suit filed by the Alawe is still pending in court. Besides, in all these suits, I was neither joined nor any of the Alaafin’s provincial militias. So, where did he (the Alaawe) get his court judgement to demolish other people’s properties?”
