Two brothers of the Osun State governor, Adegboyega Oyetola have been accused of engaging in illegal gold mining activities in the Iragbiji area of Borope Local Government Area of Osun State.
Prince Okedele Timothy, vide a petition dated 31st May 2022 addressed to the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone XI, Gbongon-Ibadan Road, Osogbo, claims that he owns a vast expanse of land situated at Morojuowo Isale Odo, Oyafe Egbeda Village, Iragbiji.
The petition, written on behalf of Prince Timothy by his counsel, Chief K. E. Ngwoke of K.E. Ngwoke & Co stated that the land in question is endowed with economic trees as well as gold and other mineral resources. The petition further informs the police hierarchy that Prince Timothy applied for a mining license to enable him to prospect and mine on the said land. But that pending approval he observed that the governor’s brothers, working in cohort with one Muazu Abubakar began mining on the said piece of land.
“In a bid to achieve the foregoing, our client has put several efforts to the point of seeking legal means of annulling the mining licence granted to one Muazu because our client’s consent and that of his members of the family was not sought and obtained as required by the law before the licence was granted to Muazu.”
However, the petitioner says that while the process of revoking the licence was ongoing, Mr Tunde Mufutau Oyetola, Sarafa Adegoke and Abbey Abiodun invaded the said land, maliciously destroyed the economic trees thereon and commenced illegal mining of gold “without any fear of the law”.
“On one of our client’s routine visits to the land, Mr Tunde Mufutau Oyetola boldly and without any fear of the law warned our client that his head shall roll on the land should he ever attempt to step anywhere around as though the land belongs to him.
“Mr Tunde Mufutau Oyetola did not end in the threat of fire and brimstone to cause mayhem to the life of our client but fulfilled same on 12th May 2022 when on sighting our client on the land started firing a gun at our client who miraculously escaped death from his blood thirty characters.
“It is worthy of note that the shooting of the gun was done by Tunde Mufutau Oyetola in the presence of Kehinde Akintile, Olaoluwa Akinyemi and Samson Adeleke Ojo.
“We do not know what gave Mr Tunde Mufutau Oyetola and his cohorts the criminal boldness of attempting to kill our client on his own land.
“Pushed to the wall as our client is, we have impressed upon him not to take laws into his hands by retaliating to unimaginable conduct of the trio.
Meanwhile, in an earlier letter addressed to Mr Kunle Oyetola, another brother of the governor of Osun State, dated 6th April 2022, the petitioner accused Mr Kunle of teaming up with the said Muazu to further trespass and continue his mining and damage to the economic crops on the land.
Reacting to this allegation, Mr Kunle Oyetola said there was no iota of truth in the allegation, insisting that Prince Timothy is a mischievous personality and a blackmailer. In a telephone call, the businessman said that Prince Timothy is well known to him as he has been doing business with his brother (not the governor).
“When we procured the land, we were ready to work with him and as a result, we asked him for terms of the agreement. He gave us a term that was impossible to meet. We asked him again and thereafter he was asking for about N30 million. I then asked him what the value of his company was.
“We have not even mined anything on the land. There was a day we were going somewhere and we decided to do a stopover on the land. Fortunately, he was there with the real landowners and the question was put to him where his land terminated. It was clear to everybody that he was claiming what does not belong to him. His land there is not more than two plots.
“We settled with the real landowners and signed necessary documents. We also entered into an agreement with the Hausa man who already had the Oba’s consent to mine on the land. And we agreed that we will use his licence for mine. You must know that the licensing office in Abuja does not give two people a licence on the same land at the same time.
“We never trespassed on his land in any way. But it is typical of him to blackmail. I was treating him with kid gloves before, but now that he decided to blackmail me, I will deal with him. I will charge him to court”.
Mr Kunle Oyetola however denied knowledge of the petition addressed to the AIG. He also denied any attempt to kill the petitioner, noting ” why would I want to kill him? How will that benefit me? Is he worth anything? For him to go the length he went, I will make sure I deal with him.”
