Cocoa farmers from eight settlements within the Oluwa Forest Reserve in Odigbo council area of Ondo State have staged protests against the Ondo state government’s sale of 2,000 hectares of their farmland to a private company, ACME Palms Limited.
The farmers, numbering over 10,000 and long-time tenants of the Government Forest Reserve, accused state officials of selling the land to a company with vested interests, in clear violation of Ondo state’s forestry laws and other pertinent regulations.
Addressing the media, representatives of the Oluwa Forest Reserve Farmers, including Abayomi Rotimi Isinleye (Chairman), Odugbemi Omolewa (Secretary), and Irewole Muse (Head of farmers at Ijoba camp), emphasized their decades-long cultivation on the disputed land.
They detailed that settlements such as Ijoba, Sete II, Ipade, Ayeleso, Isero, Temidire, and Adeleye Itamerin, alongside their sub-camps, have collectively hosted their agricultural activities.
The farmers expressed dismay over the actions of ACME Palms Limited, armed with a Certificate of Occupancy issued by the government in July 2021, which allegedly included a quit notice to vacate the premises.
They asserted that the company had begun grading operations within the forest reserve, disrupting over two million cocoa trees cultivated by the farmers before the land’s purported sale.
Their legal counsel, Tope Temokun, further accused government officials of engaging in dubious practices related to the sale and issuance of the certificate of occupancy.
Temokun alleged that public officers, concealed behind corporate entities, exploited their positions to benefit private interests, thereby compromising public trust and ethical standards.
In response to these developments, the farmers have sought legal recourse, filing a case urging the court to declare the sale and associated actions illegal and void.
Their demands include nullifying the Certificate of Occupancy issued to ACME Palms Limited and preserving their rights to continue farming on the contested lands, as per the laws governing forestry activities in Ondo State.
The defendants named in the lawsuit include the Ondo State government, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Commissioner for Agriculture, and ACME Palms Limited, among others.
The farmers and their legal representatives have called upon Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to investigate the matter thoroughly, emphasizing the need to uphold the rule of law and protect the interests of affected communities within the state.
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