Residents of Akorede, Tapas and Alagbon communities in Ilorin, Kwara State, are reportedly facing uncertainty over a disputed parcel of land acquired by the administration of former Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed and subsequently transferred to Sammya Nigeria Limited as part of a contractual arrangement for infrastructure development.
Government sources explained that a land acquisition exercise carried out by the administration of former Kwara State Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed has left residents and landowners embroiled in an ownership dispute nearly nine years later.
The expansive parcel of land, located behind the Judges’ Quarters along Taoheed Road in Ilorin, was reportedly acquired from landowners in Akorede, Tapas and Alagbon communities by the then state government for a proposed infrastructure development project.
The sources said that the administration subsequently entered into an agreement with Sammya Nigeria Limited to execute infrastructure works on the acquired land.
According to the officials, rather than fulfil the government’s financial obligations to the company entirely through direct payment, the administration agreed to transfer portions of the land to Sammya Nigeria Limited as part of the consideration for the infrastructure development contract.
The arrangement, which was reportedly intended to facilitate the execution of the project, has since become the subject of a dispute involving the company, the original landowners and members of the public who claim to have purchased portions of the land.
The sources said the state government had taken over the land from the communities under an arrangement premised on the provision of infrastructure, while the agreement with Sammya Nigeria Limited provided for portions of the property to be transferred to the company in lieu of some of the payments due for the contract.
“They now went into an agreement with a Sammya Nigeria Limited to construct infrastructure on the land that the state had acquired,” a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the issue, said.
“Instead of fulfilling the financial obligations of the contract, the administration gave the company some of the land as part payment for the infrastructure development.”
The sources said the arrangement later became contentious when the project did not proceed as expected.
As the situation unfolded, some of the original landowners and individuals locally referred to as Omo Onile reportedly began selling portions of the same land to members of the public who were allegedly unaware of the competing ownership claims.
The sales reportedly created conflicting expectations over ownership, with some buyers believing they had acquired legitimate interests in the property while Sammya Nigeria Limited maintained that it had obtained legal rights to portions of the land through its agreement with the former administration.
Nearly nine years after the transaction, the dispute has reportedly escalated, with Sammya Nigeria Limited insisting on its ownership rights and seeking to enforce them over the affected property.
“When the project didn’t proceed smoothly, the owners of the land and ‘Omo onile’ that the previous administration obtained the land from began to sell part of the same land to some unsuspecting members of the public,” a source said.
“About nine years after, Sammya Nigeria Limited, which has secured rights for the land, said it is enforcing their right of ownership.”
According to sources, the company maintains that it is entitled to the land under the contractual arrangement with the former government, which allegedly failed to meet its financial obligations under the infrastructure development agreement.
The sources put the value of the outstanding contractual obligation at approximately ₦800 million, claiming that the company was entitled to recover the amount through the land transferred to it as part of the agreement.
They further explained that the former administration issued a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to Sammya Nigeria Limited, giving the company formal documentation supporting its claim to the property.
“Sammya Nigeria Limited claimed that the PDP-led administration defaulted in the contractual agreement to the tune of N800,000,000.
“It was gathered that the company was given legal title (C of O) by the last administration but the protesters do not have any ownership documents to support their claim.
“This has thrown the protesters to chaos and hardship,” a source said.
One source told SaharaReporters that the company had obtained a legal title to the land from the previous administration, while the protesters challenging its claim allegedly lacked ownership documents capable of substantiating their competing claims.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that residents and landowners protested at the Kwara State Government House and the state Bureau of Lands, accusing Sammya Nigeria Limited of seizing their properties, laying claim to a vast tract of land and demolishing their buildings.
The protesters, who stormed the Government House last Friday, questioned why the state government would allocate their land to a private company without adequately addressing their ownership claims and concerns over the demolition of their buildings and other properties.
The affected landowners explained that the company claimed the previous administration allocated the land to it because the government owed it about ₦800 million for work allegedly carried out in the past.
According to the residents, the company is relying on the debt to justify its claim to the land, a development they said has left several property owners worried about losing their homes and investments.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, bulldozers were seen demolishing buildings on the disputed land as the dispute between the residents and the company intensified.
Speaking to SaharaReporters, some of the affected landowners said they were surprised when Sammya Nigeria Limited began asserting ownership over the disputed area, despite their longstanding claims to the properties.
The residents explained that Sammya Nigeria Limited had previously acquired land in the area and had been developing its own estate.
However, they explained that the company had now extended its ownership claims to a much wider area, including properties they said belonged to other individuals.
“We all know that Sammya had some land around there, and the company has been developing its own personal estate. Now, the same Sammya is claiming that it owns all the land, including Phase One, Phase Two and Phase Three,” one of the affected landowners told SaharaReporters.
The residents further stated that the company told them the previous administration had allocated the land to it because the government owed it approximately ₦800 million for work it had done for the state.
“The company said the past government allocated that land to the owner of the company because he had worked for them in the past, and they owed him ₦800 million. That is why they allocated those lands to him,” the landowner said.
The affected residents said the explanation had not allayed their concerns, because they acquired and developed their properties before the company began clearing the disputed area.
According to the landowners, the situation escalated during the past week when the company began clearing the land and demolishing buildings and other structures, prompting them to seek the intervention of the state government.
“This same Sammya started clearing our buildings and land this past week. That was what led us to protest at the Bureau of Lands and also at the State Government House on Friday,” one of the affected landowners said.
SaharaReporters called Engineer Lateef Sammya, identified as the Technical Manager at Sammya Nigeria Limited, but he did not answer, and he had not responded to a message sent to him at the time of publication.