Â
The ongoing land dispute between Aare Bashiru Fakorede and Harmony Gardens Ltd., the owner of Majestic Bay Estate, leading to allegations, counter-allegations, and a series of dramatic events, seems to be sorting itself out with a new clarity made possible by the utterance of one of the main villains, Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan Damazio, in a new video.
In a video interview with an unidentified media outlet, Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan falsely claimed to be the family head, despite the fact that Pa Moshood Babatunde Oni-Orisan, the legitimate family head, is still alive. She admitted her knowledge of Pa Moshood as the agreed family head who sold the Majestic Bay Estate land to Harmony Gardens. She claimed that she is now the new family head, appointed on June 20, 2024. She claimed to have taken over the headship of the family from Pa Moshood, who has been there for years, which may not be an issue. But the issue is, how do you revoke a legal transaction carried out by a previous leadership?
She also accused Harmony Gardens’ CEO, Hon. Dr. Saheed Mosadoluwa, of assaulting her, yet the video evidence she provided was just an attempt to rope the owner of the company into what seems to be a calculative attempt by her and her partners, Aare Bashiru Fakorede, to frame up Saheed and hijack the property, as the video does not show that Saheed was anywhere at the scene. For years, they have sponsored media attacks on the company owners.
Her claim that his necklace fell into her bra during the alleged assault further raised suspicions about her credibility. Moreover, in another leaked video, Mrs. Modupe can be seen admitting to destroying the fence on the disputed property, further implicating herself in the violent attacks.
The dispute centers around a 10-acre portion of the Oni-Orisan family’s land within the Oju Ota Gazetted property in Oko-Orisan, Epe, Lagos, which was sold to Harmony Gardens by Pa Moshood Babatunde Oni-Orisan, along with other key family members, including Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan Damazio.
The conflict escalated on July 17, 2024, when a group led by Bashiru Fakorede and Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan stormed the Majestic Bay project with armed thugs and maliciously demolished significant portions of the estate. This act was done without the presence of a court sheriff, a blatant violation of Lagos State Property Protection Laws. The destruction, valued at over 600 million Naira, included the theft of a payloader machine worth 185 million Naira.
Despite Saheed’s efforts to address the issue legally, including reporting the incident to the Commissioner of Police, the situation took a turn for the worse. The AIG allegedly took over the case, but the suspects were released, and Saheed’s colleagues, Chief Sulaiman Salau and Pa. Olatunde Alebiosu, who are Executive Management Officers of Harmony Gardens and Estate Development Limited were surprisely illegally detained instead.
In response to these attacks, the Orisan community members intervened during the second attack, capturing some of the thugs and handing them over to the police. However, rather than proceeding with justice, the suspects were released, and Saheed’s colleagues were detained on false charges.
Pa Moshood, the family head, even held a press conference in Lagos, where he defended the sale of the land to Hon. Audullahi Saheed’s company, Harmony Gardens, emphasizing the legality of the transaction and his authority as the family head. He shared a 2022 newspaper publication confirming his appointment as the Olori Ebi (family head) by the Oni-Orisan Chieftaincy Family, highlighting that Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan had not contested his leadership until the recent dispute over the land sale.
During his speech, Pa Moshood revealed that the family owns approximately 5,400 acres of land in Epe, of which 2,000 acres have been acquired by the Lagos State government for the airport project and Oko-Orisan Scheme. He expressed bewilderment at Mrs. Modupe’s sudden objections, given that there is still ample land available for the family’s 77 grandchildren to share. He also disclosed that he had received land payment from Harmony Gardens, with the balance of N30 million pending due to the recent attacks on the company’s property.
Pa Moshood specifically accused his half-sister, Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan, of orchestrating a campaign to undermine the legitimate sale of the land to Mr. Ibile’s company and also condemned his sister for conniving with land grabbers to disturb the peace of Oko-Orisan community.
He recounted how she had filed a petition with the police, leading to his harassment by officers from Adeniji Adele and Zone 2, where they want him to implicate and deny selling the properties to Harmony Gardens to frame up Saheed Ibile, despite his advanced age and frail health.
He also criticized her for engaging Aare Bashiru Fakorede’s hired lawyer to mislead Justice Harrison into issuing another Form O on an already executed judgment, which amounts to allowing further destruction of Harmony Gardens’ property illegally, as the judgment was against another company, China Harbour, and not Harmony Gardens.
In addition, a letter from March 26, 2024, surfaced, revealing that Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan had previously acknowledged the sale of the land to Harmony Gardens. The letter, signed by several members of the Oni-Orisan family, instructed Harmony Gardens to suspend future payments to Pa Moshood’s personal account and instead make them payable to the Oni-Orisan Chieftaincy Family, showing that Modupe Damazio knowingly engaged Aare Bashiru Fakorede to allegedly land grab what she knows her family had sold to Harmony Gardens, believing in Bashiru’s influence with some senior police officers.
This letter contradicts Mrs. Modupe’s claims of ignorance regarding the transaction and raises questions about her motivations.
As the legal battle continues, coupled with other events surrounding this issue, it appears that Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan’s actions are driven by personal grievances and financial interests rather than a genuine concern for the family’s welfare. Harmony Gardens and Estates Development LTD, under the leadership of Hon. Dr. Saheed Mosadoluwa, remain committed to upholding the law and protecting their legitimate investment in the Oju Ota property. The public and authorities are urged to disregard the falsehoods propagated by Mrs. Modupe Oni-Orisan and support a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
