The Ladi Adebutu Development Organization has accused the Ogun State Government of undermining judicial processes and attempting to intimidate opposition voices through what it described as “reckless abuse of state power.”
The group, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Afolabi Orekoya, on Monday, alleged that officials of the Ministry of Finance, under Governor Dapo Abiodun, issued a Notice of Default on one of the properties of Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu in Ode Remo, Remo North Local Government, despite ongoing litigation on the matter.
According to the statement, the notice on the property was “a contemptuous attempt to enforce charges already being contested in court,” stressing that the government’s action amounted to harassment of Adebutu, who was the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in the 2023 elections.
The organization explained that the land use and amenity charges in dispute had been the subject of two separate suits before the High Court of Justice, Sagamu, since 2018.
The first, HCS/275/2018 – Oladipupo Adebutu vs. Land Use and Amenities Charge Committee, Ogun State Ministry of Finance, is scheduled for hearing on October 8, 2025, while the second, HCS/409/2024, is still pending without a fixed date.
“It is laughable and contemptuous of the judiciary for the government and its agents to attempt to enforce charges that are already being challenged in competent courts of law,” the group said.
The Adebutu camp further argued that the Ministry of Finance lacked the legal authority to impose land use charges “without proper assessment of the property in line with the Land Use and Amenities Charge laws of Ogun State.
” It claimed that the notice was simply pasted on the building without due process, hence the ongoing litigation.
Condemning what it termed “continuous harassment of the opposition,” the group urged Governor Abiodun to focus on governance rather than “weaponizing government agencies against perceived political rivals.”
“Ogun State would be better served if the same energy was channelled into providing quality infrastructure and services to the people,” Orekoya said.
The statement called on residents to “see through this intimidation tactic and remain resolute in the face of tyranny,” warning that democracy could not thrive in an atmosphere where dissenting voices were silenced through “illegal enforcement actions.”.
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