A firm, SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited, has accused farmers protesting against alleged forced eviction at the Oluwa Forest Reserve in Odigbo Local Council, Ondo State, of being illegal occupants of the land.

This comes 24 hours after the farmers staged a mass protest against the company.

The firm’s Vice President, David Olijogun, stated during a press briefing in Akure that SAO Agro-Allied legally acquired the land from the Ondo State government and has been operating there since 2021.

Olijogun emphasised that the firm obtained a Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) for the land in 2021 and paid all required fees. He also clarified that the company’s former CEO, Ayo Sotinrin, who is now the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, resigned from SAO Agro-Allied on April 7, 2025, and is not involved in the current dispute.

The Chief Operating Officer of SAO Agro-Allied, Uthama SeelanKandasamy, noted that the activities of illegal farmers, many of whom are non-indigenes, are deterring potential investors from the state.

Similarly, the Executive Secretary of the Red Gold Forum, Henry Oladunjoye, attributed the crisis to the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service, accusing it of double-dealing by collecting taxes from both the company and the illegal farmers.

The investors called on the federal government and Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to intervene.