The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, has responded to the allegations of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Oyo Zone, over his involvement in ninety-six plots (approximately 16 acres), at the Ayetoro Scheme in Oyo town.

The religious body in June 2020 had protested that the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, was reselling the land and warned him to stay away from the disputed land which they had acquired from the old Oyo Local Government Area authorities.

The Alaafin responded to the allegations in a letter on Tuesday, asserting that the land and the adjoining property belonged to him.

In the letter, the Alaafin expressed that:

“Ordinarily, it is not in the practice or tradition of the Oyo palace to engage in public controversy with any sector of Oyo community, especially on religious matters.

“For the record, the land hitherto named as Ayetoro Scheme is erroneous, as the entire area is known as ‘Gbofin’ which incidentally is one of the ancestral stool lands of the Alaafin with approximately 1,118 plots as against the 96 plots claimed to have been owned by CAN; and Alaafin has been exercising ownership and in so doing, some parts of the land were allocated to members of the royal family without any consideration and have been inhabited by them or their allottees for a reasonably long period of time with over 2,000 buildings without disturbance from any quarters, including Atiba Local Government Area.

“It is also on records that it was through the instrumentality of the Alaafin that such reputable and highly revered religious bodies like the Baptist, Anglican, Methodist, Catholic and of late, Pentecostal churches, were provided with auspicious land settlements in Oyo. This magnanimity goes to the extent of the Alaafin providing space for Sunday church service in his palace.

“To allege that the Alaafin of Oyo is trespassing or attempting to grab the said land is not only absurd but alien. Can the owner of the land be a trespasser or grabber of his own property? It looks not only absurd but paradoxical for a group who supposedly parade themselves as godly people to be involved in fraudulent claims over land that was not only illegally transferred to them by Atiba LGA but also fraught with inconsistencies as against the Alaafin, who had surveyed and registered the same land since 1996.”

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, has responded to the allegations of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Oyo Zone, over his involvement in ninety-six plots (approximately 16 acres), at the Ayetoro Scheme in Oyo town.

The religious body in June 2020 had protested that the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, was reselling the land and warned him to stay away from the disputed land which they had acquired from the old Oyo Local Government Area authorities.

The Alaafin responded to the allegations in a letter on Tuesday, asserting that the land and the adjoining property belonged to him.

In the letter, the Alaafin expressed that:

“Ordinarily, it is not in the practice or tradition of the Oyo palace to engage in public controversy with any sector of Oyo community, especially on religious matters.

“For the record, the land hitherto named as Ayetoro Scheme is erroneous, as the entire area is known as ‘Gbofin’ which incidentally is one of the ancestral stool lands of the Alaafin with approximately 1,118 plots as against the 96 plots claimed to have been owned by CAN; and Alaafin has been exercising ownership and in so doing, some parts of the land were allocated to members of the royal family without any consideration and have been inhabited by them or their allottees for a reasonably long period of time with over 2,000 buildings without disturbance from any quarters, including Atiba Local Government Area.

“It is also on records that it was through the instrumentality of the Alaafin that such reputable and highly revered religious bodies like the Baptist, Anglican, Methodist, Catholic and of late, Pentecostal churches, were provided with auspicious land settlements in Oyo. This magnanimity goes to the extent of the Alaafin providing space for Sunday church service in his palace.

“To allege that the Alaafin of Oyo is trespassing or attempting to grab the said land is not only absurd but alien. Can the owner of the land be a trespasser or grabber of his own property? It looks not only absurd but paradoxical for a group who supposedly parade themselves as godly people to be involved in fraudulent claims over land that was not only illegally transferred to them by Atiba LGA but also fraught with inconsistencies as against the Alaafin, who had surveyed and registered the same land since 1996.”