By Wale Ade
OSOGBO – A bill seeking to put an end to the activities of land grabbers and extortion at construction sites, known as ‘Omo Onile’ syndrome has been forwarded to the Osun State House of Assembly by a group of Osogbo-born professionals under the aegis of the Osogbo Affairs Forum (OSAF).
The bill was presented by the Forum’s Steering Committee to the two lawmakers representing Osogbo and Olorunda constituencies in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Akintunde Adegboye and Hon Wasiu Adebayo.
Speaking on behalf of the lawmakers, Hon. Akintunde Adegboye assured the OSAF delegation that the bill would be presented to the Assembly and that cooperation of other lawmakers in the Assembly would be sought in ensuring the passage of the bill into law.
While speaking with journalists after presenting the bill to the lawmakers, the Steering Committee Chairman, Barrister Abdulrahman Okunade noted that the bill, if passed into law, would address the challenges being faced by many residents and property owners across the state.
“The incessant harassment and extortion which innocent land owners and builders do go through in the hands of land speculators and arms-wielding hoodlums in Osun State are becoming too worrisome in recent times”, he lamented.
“While the land speculators do sell a piece of land to more than one person thereby causing deadly confusions, the hoodlums on their part have made a vocation out of visiting construction sites to forcefully extort money from innocent land owners, property builders and construction workers. It is therefore our belief that all these practices will be a thing of the past once the bill is passed into law”, the Chairman declared.
If the bill is passed into law, as initiated by the OSAF, Osun would have joined the league of other states such as Lagos, Ogun and Oyo that have enacted similar laws with a view to criminalising and punishing the disturbing practices of the Omo Oniles who had made property development a nightmare in the state.
