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SAO FAMILY OF OBA-ILE ALLEGES PROF OLU ADEROUNMU OF ILLEGAL LAND SALES
… Disowns Former Governorship Hopeful as Family Member After Allegedly Selling Land Worth ₦200m
…Allegations are false and politically motivated – Aderohunmu
The Aderounmu family of Oba-Ile in Akure North Local Government Area has publicly disowned Professor Olu Williams Aderounmu, accusing him of falsely claiming rights to their ancestral land and selling parcels worth over ₦200 million.
In a strongly worded statement issued on behalf of the SAO Descendants Union, the family alleged that the Professor is not a biological member of their lineage and therefore has no claim, heritage right, or authority over their land in Oba-Ile.
The family explained that its ancestry traces back to Pa Ogundari, a notable farmer who fathered Pa Ezekiah Aderounmu and his sister, Usiade (née Ogundari).
According to the family, Usiade, mother of Professor Williams Aderohunmu married an Akure man named Adanlawo, making Williams a descendant of the Akure lineage.
“He bears the Aderounmu name because our family raised him after his mother returned from a failed marriage, but that does not make him one of us by blood. His mother had no land or farm in Oba-Ile so he cannot claim what does not belong to him,” the statement read.
The family further stressed that by Yoruba custom and family tradition, inheritance and headship in the SAO family are strictly patrilineal, making it impossible for Professor Williams to assume leadership or claim family property.
The family alleged that Professor Williams has illegally sold several parcels of the family’s ancestral land valued at more than ₦200 million.
They vowed to reclaim the land and pursue legal action against all parties involved.
“We warn all buyers: You bought nothing but trouble. Those transactions are illegal, null, and void. Any development on illegally acquired land will be at the buyer’s own risk,” the statement warned.
They also accused Professor Williams of using political influence as Coordinator of Tinubu for Better Nigeria and allegedly a close ally of the Governor to intimidate the rightful landowners.
The family urged Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and stop what they described as an attempt to dispossess them of their property.
The family urged the Nigeria Police Force, DSS, EFCC, and other relevant agencies to probe the alleged fraudulent land sales, trace the proceeds, and prosecute everyone involved.
“We will defend our land and protect our name with every legal, traditional, and communal means available to us. The heritage of the Aderounmu family is not for sale, not for grab, and not for impostors,” they said.
The press statement was signed by High Chief Tunde Afare Faloye (SAO of Oba-Ile), Chief Olusola Aderounmu (Obaloja of Oba-Ile), Chief Abayomi Faloye (Osoore of Oba-Ile), and Elder Igbekele Fabilola (Secretary, SAO Family Oba-Ile).
Reacting to the allegations, Prof. Aderounmu dismissed the claims as false and politically motivated.
He insisted that he is a legitimate member of the family through his maternal line and that his late grandfather had allocated 24 plots of cocoa farmland to his mother in recognition of her care before his death in 1948.
He maintained that he has never illegally sold any family land, pointing instead to two separate High Court judgments that, according to him, restrained the chiefs from disposing of ancestral property.
Prof. Aderounmu also denied using political influence, saying his relationship with the political class has nothing to do with the dispute.
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