Feru Community Leaders Call For Joint Security Operations To Stem Violent Attacks, Kidnappings, Protect Legal Miners

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Community leaders, residents and a licensed mining operator in Feru Community, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, have appealed to the Federal Government to deploy a coordinated joint security operation to halt persistent violence, protect lawful mining activities and restore normalcy to the area amid a protracted land dispute.

The appeal was made during separate statements by community representatives, traditional leaders, residents and Alhaji Gbenga Ibrahim Ibuoye, a licensed laterite miner who said he holds mining rights issued by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.

Ibuoye said he legally acquired about 166 acres of land with legal documents to ascertain his claim from the Falola and Odunfa families for mining operations and has invested hundreds of millions of naira in developing the site, including the construction of a 3-Kilometre road to open up the community.

According to him, the dispute escalated after individuals led by Alhaji Akeem Rabiu, popularly known as Erinlomo, Jimoh Rabiu, his brother, and others challenged ownership of the land, whom he said is currently wanted by the Police, but has been on the run.

The miner alleged that the dispute had passed through the courts, where his company secured favourable judgments and injunctions restraining interference with its operations. He claimed that despite the court orders, violent attacks on the mining site continued

According to Ibuoye, armed groups led by Erinlomo and several other thugs allegedly invaded the mining area on several occasions, attacking workers with firearms, machetes, axes, clubs and other weapons. He further alleged that one of his supervisors was seriously injured, while several employees and commercial motorcycle operators transporting workers to the site were assaulted.

He also claimed that approximately 30 commercial motorcycles were seized during one of the attacks and remain unrecovered. More troubling, he alleged that one of his workers, Tosin Samson, age 23, was abducted during the violence and has remained missing for more than three weeks.

Ibuoye said petitions had been submitted to the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and other relevant authorities, requesting urgent intervention.

He alleged that the same Erinlomo has been arrested on several occasions and taken to the Nigeria Police Zone 2 Command, Ogun State Police headquarters in Eleweran and the Police Force headquarters in Abuja, where he signed undertakings not to bother him, his men and other community dwellers, only for him to renege after being released from the various detentions, violating the agreements signed.

Alhaji Ibuoye stressed that Erinlomo is a confirmed land grabber who is out to forcefully take lands belonging to peaceful residents of Feru and sell them out to unsuspecting buyers, saying, “in all the interrogations he was subjected to by security agencies, Erinlomo could not provide any document to his claims of land ownership in Feru as I use to provide for my land ownership claims in that community.”

Ibuoye therefore called on the Federal Government to deploy a joint security task force comprising the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other agencies to secure the community, investigate the reported incidents, recover stolen property, locate the missing worker and ensure lawful mining activities resume safely.

Chief Ishola Adelemo, Community Head of Feru and head of the Falola family, supported the appeal, describing the insecurity as a serious threat to residents and legitimate investment.

He maintained that the land sold to Ibuoye belonged exclusively to the Falola and Odunfa families, who, he said, lawfully transferred ownership with the necessary documentation. Adelemo added that the mining project had brought significant development to the once-isolated community, including the construction of a three-kilometre access road and employment opportunities for local youths.

According to him, the road has allegedly been deliberately damaged on several occasions, severely affecting transportation and many mining operations and other economic activities.

He also alleged that many residents had fled the community because of repeated attacks, perpetrated by Akeem Rabiu, alias Erinlomo, who he said is an indigene of Itele and maternally related to Feru, where he has no fraction of control over their land matters.

The acting leader of Feru Community similarly appealed for stronger federal security intervention, alleging that armed groups had terrorised residents, damaged infrastructure and disrupted farming and commercial activities. He said the prevailing insecurity had become so severe that the community had been unable to conduct the burial of its late traditional ruler.

Solomon Oloyede, representing the Odunfa family, echoed the call for increased security, stating that the violence had escalated beyond a land dispute into a broader public safety concern. He urged authorities to investigate all allegations, prosecute anyone found culpable, and guarantee the safety of residents.

Residents also described the human impact of the crisis. Lateef Adesanya, who said he relocated from Feru because of repeated attacks, alleged that he sustained a permanent knee injury after being assaulted while farming. He claimed that many residents had abandoned their homes, while businesses and farming activities had virtually ceased.

Commercial motorcycle operators Abioye Opeyemi and Isa Idris separately alleged that they were attacked while transporting passengers into the community on June 30 this year.

Both claimed they were beaten by armed men and dispossessed of motorcycles acquired under hire-purchase agreements, leaving them without any source of income. Opeyemi added, “I personally went and pleaded with Erinlomo to kindly return my motorcycle, but he refused and threatened to shoot me.”

They appealed to the government to help recover their motorcycles and investigate the incidents.

However, Alhaji Akeem Rabiu, popularly known as Erinlomo, rejected the allegations against him, insisting that the dispute stemmed from what he described as an unauthorised sale of family land by a few members of the Falola family without the consent of the wider Ituoya family.

Rabiu argued that the Falola descendants exceeded their entitlement by selling land belonging to the larger family and maintained that he acted on behalf of family members to challenge the transaction. He further alleged that he had been subjected to repeated arrests by various police formations before obtaining court orders protecting his fundamental rights.

He also denied responsibility for the alleged disappearance of the miner’s employee, questioned whether any valid missing person report had been filed with the police, and accused security operatives of harassing members of his family during the dispute.

The allegations and counter-allegations have not been independently verified, and the ownership dispute, together with related legal proceedings, remains before the courts. No official response from the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development or other security agencies was immediately available at the time of filing this report.