The State Coordinator for the Protection of Government Property in Edo State, Eugene Okoloise, has raised alarm over the widespread illegal occupation and conversion of government-owned land across the state, revealing that over 150,000 buildings are currently situated on lands unlawfully taken from the government.
Speaking to journalists in Benin City on Thursday, Okoloise painted a troubling picture of land encroachment, corruption, and loss of public assets, blaming individuals, communities, and even senior officials in previous administrations for the situation.
He disclosed that 27 hectares of land originally allocated to the Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria (RRIN) for the development of a public park were instead diverted and sold off by an unnamed top official in the immediate past government.
“Ours is to protect government property. Over time, a lot of government properties in Edo State have been taken over. Seventy percent of the moats in Benin City have been taken over by individuals,” he said.
Okoloise added that public schools and tertiary institutions are among the most targeted assets. According to him, more than 30 schools have been recovered from illegal occupants, and the task force has received over 3,000 petitions in less than three months of its formation.
“The most attacked institutions in the state are the schools, including tertiary institutions.
We have recovered about 2,000 plots from Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, taken over by land grabbers.
The UBTH outreach in Ekpoma — the houses there were destroyed and the land sold to individuals who are now building homes on it.” he explained.
“Over 150,000 houses in Edo State are on government land because most of these communities just deforest a place and start selling government land. We are going to recover all. If we say a new Edo is rising, we should rise with the new Edo.”
He described shocking instances of abuse, including one in which a brothel was built inside Ujoelen Secondary School’s compound, which has now been seized and sealed by authorities.
“We have been able to recover a lot of landed properties for schools. Some of them will destroy the school land and erect private buildings.
At Iyeoba Secondary School, the community divided the school land into two parts and started selling one side to developers.”
He also cited a case in Auchi where the land of a public school was sold to a private proprietor, who then built a private school inside the premises of a public one. In another case, he said, a football pitch was sold, and a house was built directly on it — with the goalpost still standing behind the building.
Okoloise further criticized the role of some foreign companies, especially Chinese firms, who, he claimed, are colluding with corrupt individuals to deny the state government land use charges and tax revenue.
