By Akudo Ogbu & Micheal Akande

A Lagos-based firm, LaBIONAR Services Ltd, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, over alleged threats to lives by armed land grabbers in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, describing the menace as a “silent form of terrorism” thriving on impunity.

The firm alleged that gun-toting land grabbers invaded its plots of land located at ISIU, under the Imota Division of Ikorodu Local Council, and threatened to wipe out its workers, including surveyors and a Catholic Priest, accusing the police and judicial authorities of allegedly reframing a criminal matter as a mere land dispute.

Speaking on behalf of the firm yesterday, Dr. Alaba Victoria Sadiq recounted that on October 30, 2025, five surveyors engaged by LaBIONAR Services Ltd, alongside Rev. Fr. Onyebuchi Martin, who was sent by the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos to inspect a portion of land belonging to the Church, were confronted on site at about 6:30 p.m. by a man wielding a gun.

According to her, the armed man threatened to kill them if they failed to vacate the land immediately.
She said officers from Imota Police Station initially provided protection for the workers, but later withdrew from the site, following what she described as order from above.

She said : “Immediately the police left, one of the land grabbers surfaced with a gun, threatening to harm everyone if they did not leave. One of the surveyors, Kolawole Ojo, called her in fear to report the incident, while Rev. Fr. Martin also confirmed the threat. I told them to leave the site”

She further stated that she reported the matter to the Police, Zone Two Command, Onikan, Lagos, on November 1, 2025, while a formal petition alleging criminal assault, threat to life, kidnapping and attempted murder was submitted on November 3.

According to her, on December 22, the suspect and his family members were invited to Zone Two to write statements, but the matter allegedly took a different turn, as they were told that the matter was a land and family matter and as such, no one would be detained.

She also alleged that despite written and oral statements by the surveyors and the priest, the police later abandoned the investigation after a search of the suspect’s residence yielded no firearms.

“Since then, we have been kept in limbo. All we are told is to go back and continue work on the land, as if no gun threat ever occurred,” she lamented.

Dr. Sadiq described Ikorodu as a “red zone” for land grabbing, warning that the activities of armed land grabbers, popularly known as omo onile, now involve cutlasses, guns and fetish practices capable of leading to loss of lives.

She appealed to the Presidency, the IGP, the National Judicial Council ,NJC human rights bodies and relevant government authorities to urgently intervene, saying “Nigeria is already battling banditry, insurgency and terrorism. Land grabbing is robbery in disguise. Any delay in addressing this could cost lives”.

Reacting to the allegations, sources close to the office of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police,Zone 2, Two Command, could not confirm if such petition was received . Sources hinted that the AIG’s office was always opened to complaints to clarify any issue.