By Ola Kay
A traditional ruler has appealed to the Governor of Lagos State,Babajide Sanwo-Olu to quickly intervene and prevent an expatriate from claiming Topo Island, a suburb of Badagry.
The traditional ruler, Chief Oluwadami Avoseh, made the call as he addressed newsmen over the matter, asserting that Topo Island is the ancestral land of his people.
He explained that,“The Island is where we have our coconut island and it belonged to our forefathers.
“The island in question was leased to the Catholic Church sometime in the 18th century for a period of 90 years.
“There 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.
“The leased agreement expired many years back but surprisingly, one expatriate, Satish Sterling, was claiming to own the island.“Since the lease expired, we have not given the island to any person because it is now serving as our tourist attraction.”
He said that an intervention by governor Sanwo-Olu, calling the expertraite, Satish Sterling, to order will put an end to unnecessary claims, as the natives never sold their ancestral home to anyone.
He traditional ruler said that, “We 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.”
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