The Edo State Government has reclaim over 1229 hectares along the Irhirhi-Obazagbon-Ogheghe Road for the development of a new town.
The land was acquired in 2017 for the new town project but had been encroached upon by land speculators. The area repossessed used to be a forest reserve at the time of the acquisition.
In the bid to tackle this menace, Edo State Government in February, 2022 inaugurated an 8-man Private Property Protection Committee to improve land administration in the State. This measure was aimed at restoring sanity to the State and usher in peace and harmony to the various communities.
To enforce the government’s stance against land grabbing, Governor Godwin Obaseki also secured the deployment of the Special Police Squad drafted to Benin to work with the Government and Edo State Police Command to check the activities of land grabbers.
According to the Governor, “These are well-trained men of the Nigeria Police Force drafted into the squad that will work closely with Edo State Police Command and Edo State Government over the next few months to check the incidence of illegal sales of land and the activities of land grabbers in the State.”
He added, “The committee we have set up already has a lot of cases before it. There are many cases under investigation and we have declared some of them wanted. With this Special Force, we will go to the communities to recover all government land including those belonging to government schools.
“For people who have bought land illegally, particularly government land, we will recover all the lands. We will get all the land grabbers out and prosecute them all to serve as examples to others.”
In respect to this issue, on Wednesday, September 28, the Edo State Government announced a 24-hour curfew in Obazagbon to Ogheghe axis to conduct a security exercise that has seen the reclamation of over 1229 hectares along the Irhirhi-Obazagbon-Ogheghe road for the development of a new town.
