Community leaders, residents and a licenced mining operator in Feru Community, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government of Ogun State, have appealed to the Federal Government to deploy a joint security operation to address recurring violence, alleged kidnappings and attacks linked to a prolonged land ownership dispute affecting mining activities in the area.
 
The appeal was made in separate statements by community representatives, traditional leaders, residents and licensed laterite miner, Alhaji Gbenga Ibrahim Ibuoye, who said he holds mining rights issued by the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.

Ibuoye said he legally acquired about 166 acres of land from the Falola and Odunfa families for mining operations and had invested hundreds of millions of naira in the project, including the construction of a three-kilometre access road into the community.
 
According to him, the dispute escalated after individuals led by Alhaji Akeem Rabiu, popularly known as Erinlomo, challenged ownership of the land.
 
The miner alleged that despite court judgments and injunctions in favour of his company, armed groups had repeatedly attacked the mining site, injuring workers and disrupting operations.
 
According to Ibuoye, one of his supervisors sustained serious injuries during one of the attacks, while several employees and commercial motorcycle operators conveying workers to the site were assaulted.
 
He also alleged that about 30 commercial motorcycles were seized during one of the incidents and remain unrecovered.

Ibuoye further claimed that one of his workers, Tosin Samson, 23, was abducted during the violence and has remained missing for more than three weeks.
   
He said petitions had been submitted to the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and other relevant authorities requesting urgent intervention.

The miner further alleged that Rabiu had been arrested on several occasions and signed undertakings before different police formations not to interfere with his operations but later breached those agreements.
 
Describing Rabiu as a confirmed land grabber, Ibuoye said: “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.”
 
He urged the Federal Government to deploy a joint security task force comprising the Nigeria 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, also appealed for increased security, describing the situation as a threat to residents and legitimate investment.
 
He maintained that the land sold to Ibuoye belonged to the Falola and Odunfa families and was transferred with the necessary documentation.

Adelemo added that the mining project had brought development to the community through the construction of an access road and employment opportunities for youths.

He alleged that the road had been repeatedly vandalised, disrupting transportation, mining operations and other economic activities.
 
The community leader also claimed that many residents had fled the area because of repeated attacks allegedly carried out by armed groups, adding that insecurity had prevented the community from conducting the burial of its late traditional ruler.
 
Similarly, Solomon Oloyede, representing the Odunfa family, said the crisis had grown beyond a land dispute into a public safety concern and urged authorities to investigate all allegations, prosecute anyone found culpable and guarantee the safety of residents.

Residents also recounted the impact of the violence. Lateef Adesanya alleged that he relocated from Feru after sustaining a permanent knee injury during an attack while farming.
 
Commercial motorcycle operators Abioye Opeyemi and Isa Idris separately alleged that they were attacked on June 30 while transporting passengers into the community.

Opeyemi said: “I personally went and pleaded with Erinlomo to kindly return my motorcycle, but he refused and threatened to shoot me.”

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

However, Rabiu denied all the allegations against him.
 
He maintained that the dispute arose from what he described as the unauthorised sale of family land by some 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 said he acted on behalf of family members to challenge the transaction.
 
He also alleged that he had been subjected to repeated arrests by various police formations before obtaining court orders protecting his fundamental rights.
 
Rabiu denied any involvement in the alleged disappearance of the miner’s employee, questioned whether a formal missing person report had been lodged 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. The land ownership dispute and related legal proceedings remain before the courts, while no official response had been issued by the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development or other security agencies as of the time of filing this report.