The Kwara State High Court in Ilorin, presided over by Justice Y. A. Dikko, has granted the application of the Ipee community to appeal against the recent judgment of a High Court in Offa, which had declared that the Pooro area or Odo Pooro belongs to the Offa community.

The ruling, which was delivered last week, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing land dispute between the Ipee community (Oyun Local Government Area) and the Offa community.

Key Orders from the Ilorin High Court

• Leave to Appeal: Granted the Ipee community the right to challenge the Offa High Court judgment.
• Appeal Deemed Filed: Granted the prayer to deem the Notice of Appeal already filed on July 29, 2025, as properly filed and served on all the respondents.
• Stay of Execution: Ordered a stay of execution of the Offa High Court judgment, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.
• Injunction: Further restrained the respondents (the Offa community), their agents, or any other person claiming through them from further laying claims to the land at Odo Pooro area, Imolumo, and Akoye pending the hearing and determination of the appeal filed by the Ipee Community.

Background of the Dispute

The Ipee community had recently called on the state Governor, AbdulRahman AbduRasaq, to caution the Offa community, which they said was laying false claims to the land at Ile Poro (believed to be the same area as Odo Pooro/Pooro) belonging to them.

The Ipee community asserted that the land belongs to some family compounds in Ipee, warning that the Governor's urgent intervention would lead to the avoidance of chaos between the two communities. The land dispute intensified, particularly around the proposed siting of a Federal Government Housing Estate at Ile Poro.

It would be recalled that the proposed siting of a Federal Government Housing Estate in Offa was approved, with the location for the project at Ile Poro in the Egunkara Area, but the Ipee community said the location site falls into its territory.

"The claim that the land at Poro belongs to some families compound in Offa was fabricated, unfounded, and has no merit, and the claim was premised on deliberate misrepresentation/misunderstanding of the court judgment referred to in the bulletin. The land at Poro has an age-long history associated with and cherished by the Ipee people.

"The IPU acknowledges the instances where the Ipee community has, in the interest of peaceful coexistence, made concessions regarding land to the Offa community. We hope that these gestures are recognised as a commitment to good neighbourliness and not weaknesses.

"We urge the leadership of the ODU, and any individual or families from Offa,, to cease making claims to Ile Poro or any other land within Ipee," the community stated.

Meanwhile, the President of Ipee Progressive Union, Mr. Simeon Ayodele Ogunshola, has joined the Asiwaju of Ipee, Chief Olabode Afolayan, to congratulate the Onipee of Ipee, Oba Muftau Adebayo Lawal, on the landslide victory won at the Kwara State High Court in GRA Ilorin, which granted the request of Ipee Community to challenge the ceding of its land to the Offa community at the Court of Appeal.

A statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of Ipee Progressive Union, Ibraheem Oluwatoyin, equally appreciated the revered legal luminary, Omokayode Dada (SAN), and his team for standing firmly to ensure that justice is served in their favour.