…says petition was against Olarenwaju Fawehinmi alone, repeated invitations ignored
…no attempt at distraction will undermine Task Force operations – Ajulo
The Ondo State Anti-Land Grabbing Task Force has rejected the allegations contained in reports accusing its operatives of harassing a 104-year-old woman, threatening members of the Fawehinmi family with arrest and interfering with a matter allegedly pending before the courts.
The Task Force described the report as misleading, saying the matter before it is a petition written specifically against one Olanrewaju Fawehinmi and not against the entire Fawehinmi family. It said no other member of the family was the subject of the invitation issued by the agency, questioning the attempt to present the matter as though the entire Fawehinmi family had been targeted.
The agency said the identity of Olarenwaju himself is not even personally known to officials in the agency’s office, saying he had been on the run and neither honoured any of the invitations nor responded to calls made to him concerning the matter. Instead, it was Olanrewaju’s lawyer who contacted the office and referred to the court proceedings instituted against the Task Force.
“We got a warrant of arrest against Olanrewaju having defaulted on the invitations, simply to enforce the law. Even if you commit a crime in your own house, the appropriate authorities have the mandate to arrest you in your house and cannot say that because it is your house or family house, they cannot arrest you.” The Task Force said.
The Task Force also dismissed the claim that it was strange or improper for the agency to continue with its statutory responsibilities because a suit had been filed, saying the mere filing of a court case does not, by itself, erase investigative process arising from a petition, particularly where the agency is required by law to investigate allegations brought before it.
Reacting to the development, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and Chairman of the Ondo State Anti-Land Grabbing Task Force, Dr Olukayode Ajulo, SAN, OON, described the statement as a mere distraction and falsehood, saying it would not derail the Task Force from the mandate given to it. He said the administration’s anti-land-grabbing policy was designed to restore order, violence and strengthen due process in land-related matters across Ondo State.
The Attorney-General maintained that no amount of media pressure, intimidation of public opinion or attempt to politicise an investigation would undermine the lawful operations of the Task Force. He added that the agency would continue to discharge its responsibilities professionally, fairly and in accordance with the law.
He said that the mere institution of a case against the Task Force will not tie the hands of the agency or extinguish its statutory responsibilities, stating that only a specific order of the Court directed at the Task Force can restrain it from carrying out its statutory mandate, and that such an order, by operation of law, is subject to variation or discharge. He added that the mere filing of a suit cannot, in itself, be used to prevent a statutory body from carrying out its lawful responsibilities.
He further emphasised that the Anti-Land Grabbing Task Force is a professionally constituted body operating under his office and not an assemblage of individuals acting arbitrarily. Its Secretary is a senior lawyer of Director cadre, while its Head of Enforcement is a highly trained security professional of Commander rank, with the requisite expertise to enforce the law.
The Commissioner said he was particularly pained by the unnecessary exposure of the elderly woman, noting that the issue touches him personally and deeply because he has a 91-year-old mother himself. He said he could not imagine the distress that such public exposure could cause to her and her family, stressing that disagreements or legal disputes involving an individual should never become an excuse to subject an innocent and vulnerable parent to unnecessary media embarrassment.
“Perhaps I feel this more deeply because I am also a son to a fragile 91-year-old mother. I understand the tenderness, dignity and care that someone of that age deserves. At such an advanced age, an elderly woman should be surrounded by love, protection and peace, not placed at the centre of a controversy or exposed to public scrutiny over a matter in which she has no involvement. It is therefore particularly painful to see the image of an aged woman being brought into a dispute that does not concern her.” The AG said.
He described the use of the old woman and her photograph to generate sympathy, mislead the public or twist the facts of the matter as uncharitable and deeply insensitive. According to him, whatever grievance may exist against the accused individual, it is neither fair nor humane to expose the head of the family or drag unrelated members of the family into a matter concerning only one named person.
The Attorney-General therefore urged the accused person to present himself to the appropriate authorities, noting that there is a valid warrant of arrest against him and not against his head of the family, the elderly woman, or any other member of his family. He stressed that where a court of competent jurisdiction has issued a lawful warrant of arrest, it is the duty of every responsible citizen, and not only an officer of the Task Force, to execute such a warrant in the discharge of an official and civic duty and responsibility, adding that no one can be sanctioned merely for carrying out such a lawful judicial directive of the court.
“If there is a case to answer, let the person against whom the warrant was issued present himself and answer it. There is no justification whatsoever for turning his head of the family into the face of the controversy. He said.
The Commissioner also cautioned some legal practitioners against deploying frivolous or obstructive court processes to frustrate the lawful activities of the Task Force. He said lawyers are officers of the court who should know the law and must remain guided by the Rules of Professional Conduct. As Chief Law Officer of the State, he said it is his responsibility to protect the integrity of the Judiciary, legal profession and the administration of justice, adding that where any lawyer crosses the professional ‘yellow line’, he will not hesitate, in accordance with due process, to take appropriate action against such erring lawyers.
He equally urged Sahara Reporters and other media organisations to observe the basic tenets of responsible journalism by seeking the response of the other parties before publishing reports. He said the public deserves the whole truth, rather than a narrative shaped by the emotional portrayal of an elderly woman or the unnecessary involvement of innocent members of her illustrious family.