Staff members of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, have petitioned Oyo State Real Property Protection Agency over the invasion of their landed properties in Ibadan.
The NAN employees, in the petition written by their solicitor, Ademola Sodamade, and dated December 11, 2025, alleged breach of peace, threat to life and malicious damage by some land speculators.
The petition listed Mr Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Mrs Oluwamayowa Ayinde and Mr Adewale Owoade among the owners of the land.
They said that some land speculators, allegedly led by one Mr Kazim, popularly known as Abija, had invaded the properties without any authorisation, removing all the beacons and signposts on the land.
The employees explained that they purchased 35 acres of land at Butubutu Village in Ona-Ara local government area of Oyo State between 2013 and 2014.
“After the perfection of the purchase, my clients partitioned the land and sold it to different individuals, majority of whom are staff of the News Agency of Nigeria, Ibadan branch.
“Surprisingly, however, about a few months ago, Mr Kazim, popularly known as Abija, the Mogaji of Ile Aje, in Ode-Aje, Ibadan, forcefully entered the land.
“He removed and carted away some of the signposts and destroyed some of the pillars on the land with a view to selling it to certain individuals.
“He threatened to kill anybody who dared to stop him from carrying out his plans on the sale of the land,” the petition read.
Consequently, the NAN employees appealed to the agency to come to their aid by stopping the illegal activities of the land speculators on the properties.
Copies of the petition, including agreement of purchases, land surveys, photographs of the land and other relevant documents, were also submitted to the Olubadan Committee on Land Grabbing, Office of the Deputy Governor as well as the Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor, among others.
Speaking on the development, the chairman of NAN Housing Scheme in Ibadan Zonal Office, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said that the concept was borne out of a cooperative arrangement among the staff members of the agency to own property through monthly contributions since 2013.
“It is very sad and disturbing that some hoodlums, under the guise of working for the state government, can forcefully encroach on the land, destroy all the farm produce, remove all the beacons and signposts installed there and threaten to kill and maim any of us on the site,” Balogun said.
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