Oganla vs Army: Court summons army boss, defence minister

A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has summoned the Minister of Defence; head of the army, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Second Mechanised Division,    Odogbo, Ibadan and others to appear before it and give reasons they should not be committed to prison for contempt.
The summon was made in respect of a piece of land belonging to the Oganla Olukola family,  measuring 8.572 hectares.
The landed property is part of the expanse of land at the old shooting range of Letmauck Barracks, Ibadan.
The two-paragraph order, contained in Form 49, had been served in a national newspaper to the head of the army
and others joined as defendants, in a suit number FHC/IB/CS/16/2004.
The family, through its lawyer, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, had approached the court to file a motion against the respondents for their disregard of a 2005 court verdict that confirmed the Oganla family as the rightful owners of the land.
According to the head of the family, Chief Lasisi Akinola, the land was originally 97.05 acres (39.29 hectares) when the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) settled on it, shortly after which ended in 1945 before the army took over the land.
Chief Akinola said a perimeter survey that reduced the land to 8.572 hectares was prepared by the army, in conjunction with a former surveyor general of Oyo State, though the bill was paid by the family.
The defendants are expected in court on October 11, when the motion for contempt will be heard.