Residents of Ilupeju Community in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, staged a peaceful protest on Tuesday over an alleged plan by the state Ministry of Lands and Physical Development to block the only access road to the area.
The residents accused some officials of the ministry of colluding with homeowners in a nearby government-owned estate to block the access road leading to the community.
The protesters, who carried placards with inscriptions such as “Save Ilupeju and Shittu Estate from Isolation,” “Stop violation of our right to movement,” and “Our road, our right,” said blocking the access road would cause hardship for over 4,000 inhabitants of the area.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, counsel to the community, Taiwo Ajibola, explained that during meetings between community representatives and ministry officials, they were informed that the current access road formed part of a parcel of land belonging to a man whose identity was not disclosed.
According to him, “We have about 3,000 houses in this community and about 4,000 inhabitants. So, blocking this road is going to cause a lot of security and emergency concerns. In the middle of this crisis, around March 2025, we were on this matter, and one person was claiming ownership of this land, but in the actual sense, we discovered that he is not an allottee of the land. Around August last year, we saw a notice on this land for revocation.
“Later on, the community applied that the land should be allotted to us so that we can make an access road out of it. But at the end of the day, we found out that the property had allegedly been allotted to another person, and they did not even carry us along.
“So, we are not going to allow that. We have written to the governor, and we have even written a petition to the police. The police are aware of this protest, and the governor is also aware. We are passionately requesting that the Government of Osun State please give us access to our community. This is the only access road we have. It should not be blocked.”
Corroborating the protesters, Abdulrahim Iderawumi of Sobaloju Lobekan Compound, Osogbo, who represented the family that owned the land, said the current access road to Ilupeju Community had served residents for years and urged Governor Ademola Adeleke to intervene to de-escalate tension.
“This access road is the only road for the people living within this community. The land here was given to the Federal Government years ago, and we do not know what concerns the state government about it.
“From time immemorial, it has been the access road to the community. The people building houses here have no other road than this place. We do not know why they are now blocking it. Governor Adeleke should intervene,” Iderawumi said.
But the Osun State Commissioner for Lands and Physical Development, George Alabi, while responding to the allegations, said a property had been developed on the parcel of land originally designed to serve as the access road to Ilupeju Community, insisting that the current road leading to the area was unauthorised.
On what could be a possible resolution, Alabi said, “During our last meeting, the leaders of the adjoining community personally requested my presence, and I honoured them. I went there last Wednesday to see things for myself.
“After I examined all the roads they showed me, I informed them that the ministry will find a way to create access for them, so that there will be peace between the Ilupeju Community and the GRA residents.”
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