Sam Philip
As the legal battle between the Oluwa Forest farmers in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State and SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited on the alleged attempted encroachment and plan to evict the farmers, continues, the Ondo State High Court sitting in Ore on Monday granted the application of the claimants(farmers) filed on their behalf by their counsel, Tope Temokun Esq, to substitute one of the respondents.
The Court granted leave to the Claimant on an application filed to substitute the former Chairman of the Ondo State Agricultural Empowerment Centre, Mr. Akin Olotu, with Mr. Rotimi Wemimo, the current official head of the body.
Addressing journalists after the sitting, the counsel to the claimants, Tope Temokun Esq said: “Wemimo had once attempted to evict the farmers from their farmlands relying on a Customary Court order secured to circumvent the proceedings already ongoing before the High Court.”
Temokun, who immediately after the ruling, met extensively with the farmers who were eager to be abreast of the matter’s progress today. In his usual consanguine speech with the farmers, he outlined the victories and the roadmap to trial as a step in the right direction.
The farmers’ counsel said: “The farmers – many of whom have cultivated these plots for years and incurred millions of naira in rent to the Ondo state government – expressed renewed hope and an unshakeable resolve to protect their livelihoods.
He emphasised that “today’s orders sweep aside technical obstacles and clear the path for the substantive fight against corporate overreach to ensure the necessary parties are joined to the suit and to allow any decision from the suit be overarching and enforceable against all interested persons:
“Today’s orders remove technical obstacles and let us confront the central issue: the protection of poor farmers against corporate overreach. Justice is inching closer.”
Meanwhile, all parties are still required to maintain status quo until the 5th of June 2025, in line with the earlier granted injunctions by the court, when the court will commence a definite hearing of the matter.
Temokun said: “With an application for accelerated hearing earlier granted to the Defendant, it is believed that the end to this legal tussle on oppression against the vulnerable communities and the rule of law is close to an end.”