Barrister Abdulroheem Bayo Lawal who is the acting Governor of Oyo State has given an open directive that any individual who grabs lands unlawfully in any part of Oyo State and is thereby found guilty in the court of law would be jailed for 15 years.
The Governor had also made this open disclosure on Sunday.
Read Also: Oyo Assembly Finally Impeaches Deputy Gov, Olaniyan
Lawal, who had also spoken after the inauguration of the Task Force Unit of the real properties law of Oyo State at the weekend had also made it clear that land grabbing will no longer be tolerated in the state.
He had also noted that it is on this note that the committee was set up so as to tackle the menace.
“Land grabbing will no longer be tolerated in Oyo State and under the law, land grabbers can now be jailed for up to 15 years while those who aid and abet them will also not go scot-free.
“Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, land speculators and some lawless individuals who want to reap from where they did not sow, engage in all sorts of antics to disturb and dispossess landed properties from their rightful owners.
“Some of them use force to demand fees from the property owners, inflict bodily injury on them, sell another person’s property and stop construction activities with the use of force, to mention a few.
“It is against this background that the Real Properties Protection Law, 2016 was enacted. However, the Law has not taken effect due to the fact that the Task Force Unit, which is the operational unit of the Law, has not been in existence.”
In another report, the Oyo State House of Assembly, have on Monday finalised the impeachment of the Oyo State deputy governor, Rauf Olaniyan, over some allegations of gross misconduct and financial impropriety, while in office.
The Assembly, had during its emergency sitting, recommended that, having considered the report of the seven-man panel constituted by the Chief Judge of Oyo state to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the deputy governor, it has found him culpable of all allegations thus its final decision to okay the impeachment process.
The recommendations stated further: “I hereby, recommend for the approval of the house, pursuant to section 188 (19) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) that the deputy governor of Oyo State, His Excellency, Engr. Rauf Olaniyan, stand removed from from office with effect from today, Monday July 18, 2022.”
Following this development, the governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, is expected to announce the name of the new deputy governor, who is expected to be sworn in with immediately effect today, as the assembly planned to reconvene its sitting again in the next few hours.