Ondo Residents, Farmers Protest Alleged Assault, Seek Govt Intervention

The residents and farmers from the Irore Ajelanwa Community in the OA3A Oluwa Forest Reserve, Odigbo Local Government Area, on Thursday staged a peaceful protest in Akure, the Ondo State capital over what they described as persistent assault and intimidation.

The protesters accused one Damilola Olowoniyi, who claims to be a forest guard with the State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, of constantly assaulting, intimidating, and harassing them.

The farmers marched to the Governor’s Office in Alagbaka carrying placards with different descriptions; ‘Our elders are being threatened, please protect them, ‘Governor Aiyedatiwa should help us’, ‘We have paid our due, why are we being punished?’ and ‘Our lives are in danger.’

They said they could no longer tolerate the alleged attacks, which have prevented them from accessing their farmlands, even though the state government had legally allocated the land to them.

Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved farmers, Mr. Adesoji Awotale said that the crisis began after the state government sold about 10,000 hectares in the OA3A section of the Oluwa Forest Reserve to a private investor, SAO, prompting protests from long-time occupants who had cultivated the land for over two decades.
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‎Following the agitation, the government later ceded 2,000 hectares to three affected communities, including the Irore Ajelanwa community, which received 261 hectares backed by verified government documents.
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‎He explained that the community has been paying annual dues ranging from N2 million to N3 million, adding that they were preparing to renew their payment for the current year before the alleged assaults escalated.
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Awotale, who accused Olowoniyi of repeatedly harassing farmers, claimed that video evidence had shown him beating and threatening people on their allocated plots.
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According to him, the farmers have reported the matter to the Commissioner of Police and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 17, but no meaningful action has been taken to address the recurring attacks.
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‎Awotale lamented that many elderly farmers, some aged between 60 and 80, have abandoned their farmlands due to fear of being attacked, describing the situation as inhumane and economically devastating for families who depend on the crops for survival.
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“We have been paying our annual dues in millions. We were even planning to pay this year’s own before the 15th, but we feel we cannot continue to be oppressed, threatened, and marginalized on that small piece of land that we are occupying. That is the reason for this agitation.
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“Damilola Olowoniyi has been threatening us on the land, we even have him on video recording where he was beating and molesting some people. He did not know that we brought in a private investigator to cover that event.
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“We have written to the Commissioner of Police, we have written to the AIG, explaining our grievances and the problem we are having with this man. We even copied the AIG,” he said.
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The protesters, however, demanded that the state government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry should immediately peg the boundaries of the 2,000-hectare allocation to eliminate overlapping claims and prevent future disputes.
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He stressed that the farmers are not opposed to the government or private investment but only want a safe and peaceful environment where they can work without intimidation or violence.
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Leye Akinola, the Ondo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, who addressed the protesters said the government would look into their grievances.

Akinola, however, urged them to be calm and maintain peace in their respective communities saying “I can assure you that the government will do something about it,”