***Accuses him of selling ancestral land worth ₦200m, warns buyers of ‘trouble ahead’
The Aderounmu family of Oba-Ile in Akure North Local Government Area has publicly disowned Professor Olu Williams Aderounmu, accusing him of falsely claiming rights to their ancestral land and selling parcels worth over ₦200 million.
In a strongly worded statement issued on behalf of the SAO Descendants Union, the family declared that Professor Williams is not a biological member of their lineage and therefore has no claim, heritage right, or authority over their land in Oba-Ile.
The family explained that its ancestry traces back to Pa Ogundari, a notable farmer who fathered Pa Ezekiah Aderounmu and his sister, Usiade (née Ogundari). According to the family, Usiade, mother of Professor Williams, married an Akure man named Adanlawo, making Williams a descendant of the Akure lineage.
“He bears the Aderounmu name because our family raised him after his mother returned from a failed marriage, but that does not make him one of us by blood. His mother had no land or farm in Oba-Ile, so he cannot claim what does not belong to him,” the statement read.
The family further stressed that by Yoruba custom and family tradition, inheritance and headship in the SAO family are strictly patrilineal, making it impossible for Professor Williams to assume leadership or claim family property.
The family alleged that Professor Williams has illegally sold several parcels of the family’s ancestral land valued at more than ₦200 million. They vowed to reclaim the land and pursue legal action against all parties involved.
“We warn all buyers: You bought nothing but trouble. Those transactions are illegal, null, and void. Any development on illegally acquired land will be at the buyer’s own risk,” the statement warned.
They also accused Professor Williams of using political influence as Coordinator of Tinubu for Better Nigeria and a close ally of the Governor to intimidate the rightful landowners.
The family called on Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and stop what they described as an attempt to dispossess them of their property.
The family urged the Nigeria Police Force, DSS, EFCC, and other relevant agencies to probe the alleged fraudulent land sales, trace the proceeds, and prosecute everyone involved.
“We will defend our land and protect our name with every legal, traditional, and communal means available to us. The heritage of the Aderounmu family is not for sale, not for grab, and not for impostors,” they said.
The press statement was signed by High Chief Tunde Afare Faloye (SAO of Oba-Ile), Chief Olusola Aderounmu (Obaloja of Oba-Ile), Chief Abayomi Faloye (Osoore of Oba-Ile), and Elder Igbekele Fabilola (Secretary, SAO Family Oba-Ile).
Prof. Aderounmu Fires Back
Reacting to the allegations, Prof. Aderounmu dismissed the claims as false and politically motivated.
He insisted that he is a legitimate member of the family through his maternal line and that his late grandfather had allocated 24 plots of cocoa farmland to his mother in recognition of her care before his death in 1948.
“My mother’s name was given to me when I entered primary school. She was the one who sponsored my education. That land was given to her directly by my grandfather, and I am only protecting what rightfully belongs to her and her children,” he said.
The professor further accused some family chiefs of being the real land grabbers.
“They are the ones who have been selling off almost all the family land and sharing the proceeds among themselves. They are afraid of me because I am the only one challenging their illegal sales,” he alleged.
He maintained that he has never illegally sold any family land, pointing instead to two separate High Court judgments that, according to him, restrained the chiefs from disposing of ancestral property.
“I have court judgments to prove my case. If they claim I sold land, they should take me to court again. I have not sold a single plot illegally,” he stated.
Prof. Aderounmu also denied using political influence, saying his relationship with the political class has nothing to do with the dispute.
“Dragging the governor into this matter is baseless. They are simply trying to tarnish my name because I stopped them from recklessly selling land that belongs to generations yet unborn,” he added.
FULL STATEMENT OF SAO’s FAMILY
Gentlemen of the Press, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have called you here today because enough is enough. The good name of the Aderounmu family of Oba-Ile is being dragged into a matter that we cannot and will not keep silent about.
Recently, the name Professor Olu Williams Aderounmu has appeared in a petition alleging land-grabbing and other criminal activities.
The impression being created is that this man is a true son of the Aderounmu family and a rightful custodian of our ancestral land.
We are here to declare boldly and without fear: THAT IS A LIE!
Let the whole world hear us today: Professor Olu Williams Aderounmu is NOT a son of our lineage. He has NO claim, NO heritage right, and NO authority whatsoever over our family land in Oba-Ile.
Now, for those who want the truth, here are the facts:
Our family, SAO lineage, traces its roots to Pa Ogundari, the great farmer of Asio/Oke Oge in Oba-Ile, who gave birth to Pa Ezekiah Aderounmu and his sister Usiade nee Ogundari.
Usiade married an Akure man called Adanlawo, and from that union came Professor Olu Williams.
After her marriage collapsed, Usiade returned to Oba-Ile and stayed with her brother, Pa Ezekiah Aderounmu, who raised young Olu Williams from childhood to the university level. That is why he bears the Aderounmu name – but make no mistake: bearing our name does not make him one of us by blood, nor does it give him any right to our heritage.
We state it clearly today: His mother had NO land and NO farm in Oba-Ile. She left nothing for him to inherit here. He cannot take what is not his. If he wants land, let him go to his father’s people in Akure and take from their farmland — not from ours!
And let him, and everyone else, understand this clearly: By Yoruba custom and our family tradition, a child does not claim headship or inheritance through the mother in a patrilineal family.
Therefore, Professor Olu Williams CAN NEVER, and will NEVER, be the head of the SAO family. That position is reserved for the direct male descendants of Pa Ogundari.
Now, the situation has become even more alarming.
We have evidence that Professor Olu Williams has illegally sold parcels of our ancestral land worth over Two Hundred Million Naira (₦200,000,000). This is outright fraud, and we will pursue every legal means to ensure justice is served.
As if that was not enough, based on his baseless petition over land that does NOT belong to him, security operatives have started inviting the legitimate owners of the land, the true descendants of the Aderounmu family, erroneously tagging them as land grabbers. This is injustice, and we will not stand for it.
To make matters worse, Professor Olu Williams is using his influence as a friend of the Governor and Coordinator of Tinubu for Better Nigeria to intimidate the family and illegally take over our property.
We call on our amiable Governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, and our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to rein in their friend and let our family breathe. He should go to his father’s family in Akure, not steal from ours in Oba-Ile.
Direct Warning to Buyers:
We hereby warn all individuals, companies, and developers who have purchased land from Professor Olu Williams to know that you bought NOTHING but trouble. Those transactions are illegal, null, and void. The land belongs to the SAO Aderounmu family, and we will reclaim every inch of it. Anyone who ignores this warning and proceeds to develop on our land does so at their own peril.
Call for Investigation:
We call on the Nigeria Police Force, DSS, EFCC, and all relevant law enforcement agencies to immediately investigate these fraudulent land sales, trace the proceeds, and bring everyone involved to book. This is organized criminality disguised as inheritance, and it must not be allowed to stand.
We will not allow anyone to rewrite our history or steal our heritage. Any attempt to grab our land will be met with every legal, traditional, and communal resistance available to us. We will defend our land, and we will protect our name.
We are united, we are resolute, and we are saying it loud and clear: The heritage of the Aderounmu family is not for sale, not for grab, and not for impostors.
A stranger cannot inherit the throne; one without the right lineage must never assume leadership.
Thank you.
Signed:
On behalf of the SAO of Oba-Ile Descendants Union
- High Chief Tunde Afare Faloye, the SAO of Oba-Ile
- Chief Olusola Aderounmu, The Obaloja of Oba-Ile
- Chief Abayomi Faloye, the Osoore of Oba-Ile
- Elder Igbekele Fabilola (Secretary, SAO Family Obaile)
