An Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the state capital yesterday, granted rights of occupancy over a disputed quarry site to the trio of Ondoko, Soyombo and Sokabi families of Isara-Remo in the Remo North Local Government Area of the state.
The disputed quarry land, measuring 55 hectares and located inside the 120 hectares of farmland in Peteku Sokabi Village, Isara-Remo, has been the subject of litigation for a long time in suit number HC/209/2012.
The head of the family, Pa. Emmanuel Sokabi, along with two other principal members of the family, Francis Banwo and Joseph Adewole Sodipe, had dragged the duo of Shola Olanrewaju and Ayoola Sokabi before the court to expunge their names as joint owners of the land.
The trio of Pa. Sokabi, Banwo and Sodipe in the suit, prayed the court to declare them as bonafide members of the Ondoko, Soyombo, Sokabi Family of Isara-Remo and joint owners who are entitled to exercise all possessory rights over the land.
Adjudicating on the disputed land however, the presiding judge, Justice A.A Babawale in his judgement on the case delivered on June 26, 2024, averred that the traditional oral history relied upon by the court and the documents tendered indicated that the claimants have rights of ownership to the disputed land.
Justice Babawale, in the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment, a copy of which was obtained by LEADERSHIP on Friday yesterday, held that the claimants have been able to show before the court that they had more recent dealings on the land than the defendants.
“The document (Exhibit DE4) relied upon by the defendants to show acts of possession by their forebears did not help the case of the defendants in my view. The facts as presented in this case by the defendants actually supported the position of the claimants”.
“The quality of evidence produced before the court by the defendants is not satisfactory for me to hold on the balance of probability, that the defendants are entitled to the declaratory relief sought for by them on their claim of title to the land in dispute.
Justice Babawale who affirmed that the case of the claimants succeeded, therefore, declared that the claimants are members of descendants known as Ondoko, Soyombo Sokabi Family of Isara-Remo, Ogun State.
