The Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Wale Adedayo, has lashed out at the Ogun State Government over an “act of arson and destructions” against people in the council.

Mr Adedayo, who posted on Facebook on Thursday, expressed displeasure with the government’s demolition of structures in the forest reserves in the local government.

“We cannot continue like this in Ijebu East Local Government. These are the poorest of the poor being dehumanised by destroying their farms and houses,” he said.

The Commissioner for Forestry, Tunji Akinosi, on Thursday, explained that the government has embarked on the removal of what he called ‘illegal shanties and enclaves’ from its forest reserves.

The commissioner said the exercise started last week at J1 and J3 forest reserves and would be continuous. He noted that the demolition was aimed at ridding the forest reserves of illegal occupants and loggers.

“It (the demolition exercise) is the removal of illegal shanties and enclaves in our forest reserves. It is not peculiar to Ijebu East J3.

“We were at J1 reserve on Thursday last week and it will be continuous as the government is desirous in ridding all our reserves.”

But Mr Adedayo, who belongs to the same All Progressives Congress as Governor Dapo Abiodun, criticised the demolition.

He said the “arson and other destructions” had been happening in J3, near Ogbere, since four days ago.

The council boss, who shared photos of the destroyed structures on his Facebook page, called on inhabitants of the community to return home and fight.

In Yoruba language, Adedayo added that, “Sugbon, ki awon eeyan wa pada sile. Omo Oba kankan ko gbodo ja ogun bi eru. Isese ni ki e pada si o! Ti won o ba pada, e je ki a be awon aye lowe won.

“Ki Omo won saisi. Ki awon paapa beere si ri irikuri. Ile ni ki e pada si o! E je ki a pada so odo awon Baba wa! Ile ya o!!! Meaning, “But, let our people go back home. A prince doesn’t fight like a slave. Go back to tradition. If they don’t return, let’s seek spiritual intervention. May their children die. May they themselves begin to see bad things. Go back home. Let’s return to our fathers. It’s time to go home.”

YOU SAY?

Mr Akinosi described Mr Adedayo’s comment as dramatic, saying “this is drama.”

He asked the Local Government boss to contact the Ministry if he has any questions or needs any clarification.

“Please ask the chairman to get in touch with the Ministry of Forestry if he has questions or clarifications as I can inform you categorically that he has not informed or gotten in touch with us.”

Contacted, Mr Adedayo said he had reached out to the ministry.

“Yes I have contacted the ministry and I spoke with the permanent secretary and he confirmed that it was the government, from the ministry of forestry that carried out the act.”

COURT

Meanwhile, a legal practitioner, Taofik Lawal, threatened to take legal actions against the state government, saying the government should have redeemed its forest through due process of the law instead of self-help.

“Wale Adedayo may have to give me facts of this case. We may file legal action against the perpetrators. No one is above the law.

“Assuming, without conceding that these people have committed some wrong, the law does not permit self-help. You have to redeem the wrong done through the due process of the law. 2 wrongs don’t make a right. It is important, we fight for our people against oppression and tyranny,” Lawal submitted.

In his words, one Odusanya Charles lamented that the government had earlier set ablaze a bridge constructed with community efforts at Laigan.

“This is another one again in the same Ijebu East LG, just because you’re occupying a position that will only last for 4 years if God says yes. Ogun West and Ogun Central are also part of Ogun State. Why Ogun East? Why Ijebu East? We’re going to do it legally, before it gets out of hands,” Charles complained.

Recall GBETU had in January demolished an illegal bridge.

It was a construction of unlawful flyover bridge across Oluwa River, a boundary between Omo forest, Area J4 in Ijebu East and Ondo State.

Akinosi said aims and objectives behind the heinous act, was for easy transportation of the State’s forest resources by illegal loggers and flitches production, called ‘Alamole’, to be freely stolen and taken away to neighbouring States.