Lagos State Government has arraigned suspected 10 land grabbers before a Special Offences Court sitting in Oshodi over allegation of forceful takeover, trespass and land grabbing of property belonging to Nichemtex Limited, in Ibeshe, Ikorodu.

The 10 defendants, namely Amisi Friday, Holy Osaweme, Wale Adigun, Muhammad Amodu, Christopher James, Tope Ojo, Usman Abubakar, Jubril Isa, Yusuf Babamariam and Sherifu Ibrahim, were arraigned on a four-count charge by the state’s task force on land grabbers.

They were said to have encroached on acres of land owned by Nichemtex LTD, a subsidiary of United Nigerian Textiles Public Limited Company Plc between 2019 and 2021 in Owode Ibeshe, Ikorodu, Lagos.

According to the coordinator, Lagos State Special Task Force on Land Grabbing, Owolabi Arole, the defendants were arrested following an investigation of a petition dated May 5, 2020 by United Nigerian Textiles Plc.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty while their counsel applied to the court to grant them bail in most liberal terms.

The counsel argued that the offences for which their clients were charged were bailable and that they were ready to defend the case.

The prosecutor, Mrs. Ruqayat Shomade, a state counsel with the Task Force on Land Grabbing, did not oppose the bail application, but urged the court to impose conditions which would make the defendant available for trial.

In her ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Oluwatosin Fagbohun, granted bail to the defendants in the sum of N100,000 each, with two sureties in like sum.