….Property was mine – Politician

Chairperson of Sapele Chapter of the International Red Cross Society, IRCS, Madam Lulu Ebiai, has raised the alarm over what she called “desperate plan of a politician in Sapele to get rid of me in order to claim a landed property measuring 200×85 feet in the area belonging to the International Red Cross.”

According to Lulu, “IRCS has already built its office on a section of the property, leaving the other section to build a school for the less privileged children, prayer chapel, an orphanage centre and a centre for care of the elderly people, when, suddenly, a politician in Sapele grabbed the left over space and converted it to his personal use.”

•Madam Lulu Ebiai

But in a swift response, a former Chairman of Sapele LGA, Mr Julius Egbedi, said the land belonged to him and not IRCS.

“I bought it from its original owner and she legally transmitted the land to me. It measured 100×100. I bought it and I also settled the community which, aside my title papers, also gave me a receipt for the purchase.”

“Other individuals like the fire service center and IRCS also have theirs plots around my land. I share common boundary with IRCS and IRCS has developed its plot in that area. It even encroached into 30×100 of my land when it was fencing its property. IRCS is the one offending me and not the other way round.

Again, nobody is threatening the life of Madam Ebiai. As a matter of fact, I have sold my portion and IRCS has built its office on its portion and has fenced it round. So why are they coming to lay claim to the portion outside their fence?”

When contacted, the original owner of the land, octogenarian Mama Igiwuyi Warri Ojerumu, said then Bendel State government acquired part of it without paying compensation and shared the part it acquired to some agencies and NGOs, including IRCS and the Fire Service. I sold the remaining part to a former Council Chairman, Mr Julius Egbedi”.

But Ebiai said, “All the land belongs to IRCS. We built on a section and we left a section for other purposes. We were in the office recently when we noticed some youth clearing debris from the empty space. When I inquired from them on why they were encroaching into a proper widely known to be International Red Cross Society property, they told me that some politicians had sold it to them.

“While I was making further inquiries from the neighborhood, I was surrounded by a mob which nearly lynched me.

“The property was acquired by then Bendel State government under Brigadier General Samuel Osagbovo Ogbemudia, ret., which gave it to IRCS. It also gave land to other agencies, like the Fire Service and all are still there till date. IRCS did not build on its land for a long time, to the extent that its neighbours were dumping refuse on it”.

“They are consistently threatening my life. They have been sending their boys to be lurking around the office to harm me. This is why I am making this SOS to members of the public and to security agencies to come and rescue me and bring those involved in the encroachment to book and restore IRCS land, needed for public good”.