Edo Communities Protest Continued Land Withholding

The people of Oke-Oroma and Obagie communities in Ikpoba-Okha LGA, Edo, on Monday protested the continued withholding of their seized land by a government committee.
The protesters said Gov. Monday Okpebholo had revoked the land’s ownership from its previous holders, but their communities were yet to regain access to the land.
Speaking for the Oke-Oroma/Obagie Property Developers, Public Relations Officer Efe Ewemade said, “We came before and the governor addressed us directly.”
Ewemade explained that the governor established a committee headed by Dr Tony Ikpasaja to handle all required documentation related to the disputed land.
According to Ewemade, the governor described companies registered by the past administration as self-created, leading him to revoke their Certificates of Occupancy (C of O).
Ewemade expressed the community’s frustration, stating that their concerns were being ignored and the committee seemed biased towards the previous administration’s interests.
Recall that ex-Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration demolished structures in the area in 2022, citing illegal encroachment.
Obaseki had claimed the affected developers were trespassing on government-owned land without authorisation or proper documentation.
The Obaseki-led government proposed a Coral City project on the site, allegedly allocating the land to his political associates.
Governor Okpebholo later met with the communities and assured them that genuine original owners would be identified and assisted in regularising their land titles.
He then set up a committee, led by Dr Tony Ikpasaja of Edo Geoinformation Services (EdoGIS), to implement the profiling and regularisation process.
The protesters, however, alleged the committee was avoiding transparency and trying to return the land to those previously favoured by Obaseki’s administration.
Group leader, Mr Ojo Collins, stated the committee had announced a profiling start date of June 3, which did not take place as scheduled.
In spite of sending letters, he said they received no meaningful response from either Ikpasaja or the committee members about the delays.
While leaving the Government House, Governor Okpebholo addressed the protesters and asked them to send three representatives for a meeting on Tuesday, July 29.
Efforts to reach Ikpasaja were unsuccessful, as he was reportedly out of town during the protest.
A committee staff member, authorised to speak, blamed the community for halting the profiling by attempting to carry it out on their own.