The administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo in Edo State announced on Thursday that it has discovered and sealed a brothel operating within a primary school in Esan West Local Government Area of the state.
Eugene Okolosie, the state coordinator for the Protection of Government Property, made the disclosure during a press conference in Benin City. He also revealed that the government has recovered over 2,000 plots of land that were encroached upon.
According to Okolosie, more than 150,000 houses in the state are built on government-owned land. He urged prospective land buyers to seek clearance from the Edo Geographic Information Service to avoid becoming victims of land grabbers.
He said:
“A lot of government properties have been encroached upon. Seven percent of our moat has been taken over, and the most affected are our public schools. In Ambrose Alli University alone, we have recovered plots of land from land grabbers. The community came to inform us that land grabbers forged their signatures, and we moved into action and recovered about 90 percent of the land back, including lands belonging to schools.”
Okolosie continued:
“Also, in Ujuele Primary School, they built a brothel inside the school, and we have sealed the brothel. Some of these properties will be converted, as we are presently discussing this peculiar issue with the governor.”
He added that in Iyoba, a local community divided the land belonging to a school into two and sold one half to private individuals.
“A kitchen was carved out next to a classroom. How will students learn with the aroma of stew getting into the classroom? That again is being investigated, and those suspected to be involved have been invited.”
The agency has reportedly received over 3,000 petitions in the past two months concerning illegal acquisition of government property. Okolosie vowed to continue recovering the affected lands and praised Governor Okpebholo for providing legal support to aid the prosecution of offenders.
