By Evelyn Usman

As he reclines on an old creaking  armless chair preparatory for this encounter, 72- year- old Olusegun Meranda, the only surviving male child of poplar  Delfino Anthonio Da-Meranda family in Lagos,  presents an unmistakable graphic picture of an unkempt and ailing septuagenarian needing shelter and medical attention.

But his high-pitched voice and flawless command of English language punctured this misconception, as the retired banker revealed that he had been in a hideout  over a year now, after escaping death by the whiskers, allegedly by suspected assassins under the pay roll of an unnamed land grabber popularly called ‘Pastor’.

Crime Guard gathered that the genesis of his trouble  began following an attempt to reclaim his father’s  expanse of land spanning from Iwaya and Gbagada to Anthony village in Lagos state from ‘Pastor’ whom he alleged  diverted  them under questionable manner.

Pa Olusegun Meranda

While he is fortunate to be alive to narrate his ordeal  in the hands of those he described as killers of good virtues, his elder sister on the other hand, is not, as life was reportedly snuffed out of her by a bullet from  unknown gunmen, during the struggle to reclaim their father’s property which, he said, were  bequeathed to them.

At the moment, Pa Olusegun, as he is popularly called , disclosed that a portion  of the land in dispute on Adewale Kuku, Oke-Alo, Anthony village, had been  given to the Police authority where  a Police Station  was being built , without taking time to verify the authenticity of its ownership.

He, therefore, called the attention of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, to the development, pointing out  that the land on which the police station was being built did not belong to the self- acclaimed owner (Pastor) . Rather, he posited that the reason the alleged land grabber allotted five portions of the land to the police was because he wanted  them (Police) to be  permanently around him and  to perpetually intimidate any member of Delfino Anthonio Da-Meranda family who dared to challenge him over the land.

Attempts on his life

“As I speak to you now, I am not living in the bungalow that I built because his thugs had made several attempts on my life. Can’t you see how dirty and unkempt I am  like someone in a refugee camp? This is somebody whose great grand father owns a vast land spanning from Iwaya and Gbagada to Anthony village in Lagos here but now has no roof over his head just because somebody whose parents were beneficiaries of the philanthropy of my great- grand father wants me dead so that he could actualize the total seizure of the vast expanse of land especially, the one on Oke-Alo area of Anthony village now called Millennium City Center.

“His thugs  even came to Alhaji Lawal Akinolu, the man  whom my family gave power of attorney  to manage the lands. When he also got wind of their sinister motive, he ran for his dear life even before they got to his residence. The fact is that this ‘Pastor’ criminally swore to an affidavit that all the children of Delfino Anthonio Da- Meranda had died and that they had given him the power of attorney to oversee their vast land.

“When I got wind of this, I went and made inquiries during which it was revealed that his grand father who  died in 1914,  lived with my great -grand father who had arrived from Brazil after the abolition of the slave trade. My great grand  father was so rich when he returned back to the country, having been so blessed by his slave master because of his loyalty and hard work at his master’s plantation then. He was so generous that he was training those neighbours that lived around him in schools. This ‘Pastor’s grand father happened to be one of them. I was even told that some adopted his name even though he was not their biological father because of his unrivalled philanthropy.  I also got to know that he even gave this ‘Pastor’s grand father a house on  Evans street Lagos and there was an agreement to that effect dated 31st day of July 1922, between Anthonio Da Meranda and Pastor’s grand father. I have the original copy with me.

“I also have a copy of an agreement which his grandfather  made with the buyer of the said house on Evans street when selling it to another buyer in 1935. It was from these documents that I was able to deduce that his grand father  was not a member of the Da-Meranda family and that they grew up in the same compound with my great grand father. And in my great grant father’s will, there was no mention of his father’s name . So, I wonder where he is coming from”

Ownership

Narrating the genealogy of his great-grand parents’ ownership of these expanse of lands which he alleged the said ‘Pastor’ had almost finished selling to unsuspecting buyers; having forged power of attorney on behalf of the family, Pa Olusegun said :  “I had the opportunity to sit with my father and asked questions about the historical origin of the land.  The  information I got convinced me on the true owner and  from my experience in auditing as a banker, I have to check all these things for record purposes. It was there I learnt that this man (Pastor) had occupied and sold all my parents land from Iwaya to Gbagada, Adekunle to Anthony village and this made us to go to court to challenge him.

I have all the court injunctions but by the time we commenced legal action against him,  he had made a lot of money from the illegal sale of the lands and was using the money to fight me.”

Forged affidavit

“ In his forged affidavit and power of attorney purportedly given to him by the Da-Meranda’s family dated 29th day of August 1997, it stated  that none of the family members were alive. But my father was still alive then and we didn’t know anything. He even mentioned the name of my father, Mr. Akinola Da-Meranda, he mentioned my name, Segun Meranda, he mentioned the name of my cousin, Adefarasin; all these people who signed in our stead, we do not know them. We didn’t sign the purported affidavit neither did we give power of attorney to him. But the affidavit was ironically accepted in the court and that gave him the leverage to continue to sell the lands until we discovered and went to court to challenge him.  It is therefore, not too clear, how he stumbled over some vital documents, cloned them before he swore to the said affidavit that he was in charge of the lands.

Surrounds himself with policemen

“With the money he realised  from the sales of portions of my father’s land , he was able to also equip himself with thugs and Policemen.  For instance, on June 16, 2005, a banker, one Mr Nosiru Oluwalose, who authentically bought a portion of land from our family was attacked and killed by thugs working for him. He was arrested  but was released shortly afterwards.

In between time, my sister  who was about graduating from the university then,  was shot dead in cold blood by unknown persons all in a bid to cow us. The Police came in  and arrested him  again but the elders and family members came together and called for a truce during which he was made to apologize and sign an undertaking never to venture onto the land any longer.  But no sooner the undertaking was singed than he became more vicious and  selling the lands; some he gave to some serving and retired Police officers in order to curry their cooperation.

Construction of police station on disputed land

The most worrisome aspect of all these is the fact that a portion of the disputed land on Adewale Kuku, Oke-Alo Anthony village has given to the Police authority,where  they are already building a Police Station on it, without taking time to verify the authenticity of the ownership of the land.  The building is almost completed and I know that the Police would want to move in immediately upon completion; unknown to them that the land does not belong to him.

But because I know that the present Police hierarchy can not be party to illegality, I have decided to use this medium to cry to them and also inform to inform  that the land on which they are building belongs to me and not the ‘Pastor’ who gave it to them”, he stated with an expression of a visibly unhappy man.

Again, we are more than ever, prepared to do a serious legal battle with him and whoever bought from him so as to ensure that these vast expanses of lands are reclaimed back.”