Leaders of communities situated behind Ogun Government Secretariat Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, have kicked against the three-day notice of evacuation from what they described as their ancestral lands by the Dapo Abiodun-led administration.

The leaders who expressed grievances over the three-day notice of evacuation from their land by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, wondered why the government would ask them to leave their abodes without providing another place for them for relocation.

Speaking on behalf of the 15 communities’ leaders, at the weekend, the Village Head of Itori Mogan, Chief Oludare Salako, expressed shock over the planned demolition of their villages by the government despite taking the case to court to halt the exercise, saying that the villages have been in existence for 300 years.

“We continue to face persistent harassment by the government, as we were served and given three days to evacuate from our houses,” Salako said.

Also speaking, the Village Head of Ogunro Community, Chief Olakunle Bodunde, lamented that government officials have continued to harass inhabitants of the villages over demolition and evacuation notices, calling on well-meaning citizens to prevail on the government to rescind its decision.

“We are pleading for help and support from good citizens and stakeholders in Ogun State to come to our aid and prevent the government from forcefully taking our land,” Bodunde said.

But in a swift reaction, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, described the villagers as trespassers who encroached on government land.

Akinmade, however, challenged the leaders of the communities to present C/O or any evidence indicating that they owned the land, insisting that the land belongs to the government

“If they have any proof that the land belongs to them, they should come out and show the proof. For the government to have given them notices is a fact that the government owns that land.

“So if they don’t have any documents that link them to that land, that means they are trespassers. Let them also present their C/O indicating that the government want to evict them illegally, and if they don’t have, let them keep shut,” he added.