A High Court in Ore, Ondo State, ruled on Monday in favor of farmers in the Oluwa Forest Reserve in their ongoing legal battle against SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited, a company that is said to be connected to Mr. Ayo Sotinrin, the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture. The court’s decision to let the farmers’ lawyer, Tope Temokun Esq., change the name of the former chairman of the Ondo State Agricultural Empowerment Centre, Mr. Akin Olotu, to that of Mr. Rotimi Wemimo, the current head of the agency, made the farmers feel better.
Wemimo had tried to kick the farmers off their land before, using a questionable ruling from a customary court. This was thought to be done to get around the High Court’s ongoing case. After the court hearing, lead counsel Barrister Tope Temokun had a long discussion with the farmers, who were clearly worried, to tell them how the case was going. Temokun, as usual, spoke passionately about the verdict, calling it a win over corporate dominance and a big step toward justice. “Today’s orders get rid of technical problems and let us focus on the main issue: how to protect poor farmers from big businesses.” He informed the farmers, “Justice is getting closer.”
The farmers, many of whom have farmed the forest land for years and paid millions of naira in rent to the Ondo State Government, said they were more hopeful and determined to protect their only source of income from what they called aggressive encroachment. Temokun said that the substitute made all the relevant parties properly joined in the lawsuit. This would make sure that any decision issued by the court would be binding and enforceable on everyone involved.
