Thugs open fire, demolish Federal Government housing scheme in Ondo, as workers injured

• Developer, Deji of Akure bicker over destruction

Hell was let loose in Akure, the capital city of Ondo State, as hoodlums pounced on Medaville/Federal Government Estate, beating workers to a pulp and destroying properties worth millions of Naira.

It was learnt that the thugs allegedly invaded the ongoing Federal Government housing scheme in Alagbaka on Tuesday morning, shooting sporadically as they harassed workers on-site and demolished the construction works in progress.

An on-the-spot assessment of the site showed that the hoodlums, who are not the usual land-grabbers, stormed the housing scheme for destructive motives, rather than a collection of money from the owner of the estate.

Several buildings that were at lintel levels were pulled down, while plumbing pipes were mutilated.

The Guardian noticed over five Storex tanks were brought down and destroyed in the wreckage as one of the workers was beaten into coma by the thugs.

Speaking with the Managing Director, Medaville Building & Construction Co. Ltd, Otunba Ademola Akin-Benson, he alleged that Deji of Akure, Oba Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, was sponsoring thugs to carry out the attack.

Akin-Benson, who had raised the alarm over the alleged threat by the monarch on several occasions, lamented that the king has been making unlawful moves to grab the land from him and halt the Federal Government project.

He alleged that Oba Aladetoyinbo has been using thugs to disrupt work on site.

The developer lamented that over N50 million worth of materials were lost to the perennial attacks.

He stressed that the spot where the Deji laid claim to being community land was a distance away, and not the spot where work was going on in line with an extant court judgment.

“Several times, Deji has come here to beat people; two weeks ago he sent his boys to kidnap some of our workers here. We reported it to the police and appropriate authorities.

“ They were here on May 18 with two bikes, beating and harassing the workers as well as destroying many building materials,” he alleged.

The developer explained that the land belongs to the Federal Government but was ceded to Medaville Building & Construction Co. Ltd to develop, pointing to portions of the estate that is enmeshed in litigation with the monarch.

The Medaville boss, who shed more light on the court case, noted that the matter had been reported to police severally.

He said: “We are in court. My lawyers have filed Form 49 (committal proceeding) against him, which he runs away from.

“He has been served but trying to dodge it; it is always like this. We will not take any law into our hands. We will continue to pursue the case to the highest level.”

Akin-Benson, who disclosed that two different litigations had been instituted to check the monarch’s excesses, said he would not allow him to continue to disrupt the Federal Government project.

But Deji, through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Michael Adeyeye, denied the allegations and described them as unfounded.

He said: “You know the Deji is a complete gentleman who believes strongly in dialogue and the rule of law.

“He is never a violent man and neither does he believe in such. It was Otunba Benson that went to hire thugs and his refusal to pay them their fee led to crisis and destruction witnessed at the site.

“He is only trying to point accusing fingers, rather than blame himself for the woes he brought upon himself.

“So we expect him to abide by the decision of the Court over the matter. So, the palace has no hand in the in-fighting that ensued between the thugs he engaged on the land.

“Akure will never do anything that will disrupt its peace. We want development and expansion, we will not do anything to the contrary.

“The man in question should check himself and desist from this cheap blackmail. We urge him to see Akure as a peaceful land that is very accommodating,” the monarch said. (The Guardian )