Date: 2020-01-03

The Kwara State Government in the early hours of Thursday demolished houses on the land it claimed was wrongly appropriated by the late Dr Olusola Saraki.

The property was called Ile Arugbo at Ilofa Road, GRA, Ilorin.

Residents of the area said the demolition was carried out at 3.50am by a bulldozer hired by the government.

The PUNCH gathered that about 50 policemen were drafted to the area to mount security and prevent the breaking down of law and order during the demolition of the structures.

An eyewitness, who gave his name as Saheed, said residents started hearing sound of gunshots at about 3am to scare away elderly women who were keeping vigil on the property while several canisters of teargas were also fired to eject them from the land.

He said the demolition of the structures started at exactly four and ended at about 5am.

The state government claimed responsibility for the destruction of the structures on the reclaimed land in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Communications, Alhaji Murtala Olanrewaju.

The statement read in part, "The Kwara State Government early today (Thursday) began the physical reclamation of the plot of land bordering the Civil Service Clinic in Ilorin.

"The reclamation exercise began in the early hours of Thursday to avoid any needless confrontation. Attempts by some persons to provoke government's agents on lawful duty were resisted by the security agents who exercised the highest level of restraint and professionalism.

"Contrary to the claim that the state government was served court papers on the matter, we state that no court paper had been served at the time the government took steps to preserve what lawfully belongs to the people.

But in a statement in Ilorin and signed by Alhaji Bibire Ajape, Chairman of the Saraki Legacy Forum, the family stated that following the announcement by the governor that he had revoked the title on the land which had been possessed by the late Saraki for more than 20 years, they filed a case at the High Court, Ilorin, on December 31, 2019, challenging the action.