Residents of the Oke Esi compound in Kajola, Odo Owa, located in the Oke Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State, have called on the state government to intervene in an alleged land-grabbing case involving a former Chief of Naval Staff.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, Hon. Owolabi Sunday, the secretary of the Odo Owa Welfare Association, stated that the land originally belonged to the Oke Esi compound and was sold in 1997 to support community development.

It has been alleged that the former Naval Chief exceeded the boundaries of the 3.5 hectares of land that was purchased by clearing surrounding areas beyond the agreed limits. This action was reportedly taken despite a petition previously submitted to the state House of Assembly to address the issue.

The community emphasized its commitment to due process. Hon. Sunday stated: "We are pursuing legal means to reclaim our land. This measure is being taken to sensitize our people and concerned authorities. We're law-abiding people. We know that any irrational action could lead to anarchy and unrest in our community. We would not want that to happen."

Also speaking, one of the traditional title holders in Oke Esi community, Chief Babatunde Sunday, who is also the Onikoko of Oke Esi, accused Afolayan of destroying food crops and economic trees, adding that local farmers are being prevented from accessing their farm lands.

"As we speak, expansion is going on with use of caterpillars, and other heavy equipment are clearing farm land with crops like cassava, maize, cashew, yam, okro and palm trees.

"We call on the state government to urgently step in and ensure justice is served in order to forestall breakdown of law and order in the community.

"This is more so because one of the satellite campuses of the Kwara State University (KWASU) is located in Osi, where students also reside. We won't want crisis around where our future leaders get knowledge", he said.