The traditional ruler of Topo, a suburb of Badagry, Lagos State, Chief Oluwadami Avoseh has appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to intervene and stop an expatriate from claiming Topo Island, their ancestral land.
Avoseh, who made the appeal while briefing newsmen, yesterday, said: โThe Island is where we have our coconut island and it belonged to our forefathers.
โThe island in question was leased to the Catholic Church sometime in the 18th century for a period of 90 years.
โThere was a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, between our fathers and the missionaries, which led to leasing of the island to them. Coconut trees were first planted in Topo Island by the Roman Catholic missionaries in 1845.
โThe leased agreement expired many years back but surprisingly, one expatriate, Satish Sterling, was claiming to own the island.
โSince the lease expired, we have not given the island to any person because it is now serving as our tourist attraction.โ
He called on Sanwo-Olu to call the expatriate to order and stop unnecessary claims.
โWe have not sold the island to anyone, it still belongs to the people of Topo Kingdom, and we will not allow anyone to claim what belongs to us.โ (Vanguard)