Fawehinmi Family Denies Land Invasion Claims, Cites Court Rulings, Demands Action Against Armed Trespassers
The High Chief Lisa Alujoonu Fawehinmi Family of Ondo Kingdom has issued a detailed rejoinder to a report published by Periscope News on August 22, 2025, titled “Residents Accuse Police of Backing Land Invasion, Demand IGP’s Intervention.” The report alleged that police personnel supported a land invasion at a site referred to as “Canaan City Crescent, Fagun, Ondo West LGA.”
In a statement signed by Senior Pastor Olanrewaju Fawehinmi on behalf of the family, the Fawehinmis described the report as “infantile misinformation” and a calculated attempt to “rewrite judicially settled facts.” “We had resolved to ignore the latest round of falsehoods swirling around our ancestral farmland… yet the deliberate misinformation… really ought to be ignored as one of their infantile misinformation from the stable of those the Courts has variously described as fraudulent,” the rejoinder stated.
The family maintains that the land in question, the High Chief Lisa Alujoonu Fawehinmi Estate, has long been the subject of litigation, and that multiple High Court and Court of Appeal rulings have affirmed their rightful ownership.
In Suit No: AK/35C/2019 – State v Michael Fasimoye & 2 Others, the trial court found that the documents used by the Fasimoye family to support a previous claim bore simulated (forged) signatures of the Fawehinmi patriarch,
E.M.O. Fawehinmi. The court ruled:
> *“Going by the forensic reports, this Court believes the evidence of the prosecution witnesses and finds as a fact that the signature of E.M.O Fawehinmi on Exhibit Q3 was simulated.”*
Consequently, the court in Suit No: HOD/23/2023 set aside prior judgments favouring the Fasimoyes and restored possession to the Fawehinmi family. The family further stated that the Fasimoye’s application for a Stay of Execution was rejected by both the trial court and the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/AK/174/2023, which struck out the application on October 10, 2024.
> “Every purported sale by the Fasimoyes is therefore void ab initio, and those who act on them do so at their own peril,” the family asserted.
The rejoinder then catalogued a series of events the Fawehinmi family described as “decades of harassment and violence” allegedly instigated by the Fasimoyes and their associates.
These include several armed invasions, arrests, and intimidation campaigns reportedly carried out by operatives of the DSS, Amotekun Corps, OPC, and FCIID Alagbon, often targeting tenants on the disputed land. In one instance, a 78-year-old tenant, Mr. William Iweh, was allegedly abducted and beaten before being transported to Lagos.
> “They were beaten to stupor then flung at the rear of the Hilux… and bundled to FCIID Alagbon Annex where another round of massacre resumed,” the rejoinder claimed.
Multiple High Court judgments, Suit Nos: HOD/9M/2021 to HOD/13M/2021, reportedly awarded over ₦5 million in damages for illegal detention and torture of tenants, yet the family claims these awards remain unpaid.
In perhaps the most dramatic development, the family recounted that on August 20, 2025, a “self-styled American returnee and discharged marine”, allegedly one of the Fasimoye land buyers, led ten fully armed soldiers onto the estate. The soldiers reportedly drew weapons and threatened violence.
According to the rejoinder, the Police Area Commander, CSP T.Y. Pyikinson, attempted to de-escalate the situation but tactically withdrew to prevent bloodshed. Order was later restored by General Justin Ifeanyin, Commander of the 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, and the soldiers involved are now said to be undergoing orderly-room trial.
The Fawehinmi family issued a five-point demand in response to the incident and the media report:
1. The Inspector-General of Police should immediately withdraw any residual police protection allegedly extended to the Fasimoyes and their agents.
2. The Chief of Army Staff should conclude the soldiers’ trial and publish the outcome.
3. The Ondo State Government should initiate contempt proceedings against all who bought, sold, or developed the land during litigation.
4. Periscope News must publish the Fawehinmi rejoinder in full, retract any defamatory elements, and issue a formal apology through the same medium.
5. Should these conditions not be met, the family will seek legal redress.
The rejoinder concluded with a warning: “Failure to toe the line of wisdom, within reasonable time, we shall be left with no choice than to seek appropriate legal redress.”
The family added that all cited court judgments and police reports are public documents, accessible for independent verification from the appropriate government agencies.