Tinubu’s ADC, Lt. Col. Nurudeen Yusuf, Denies Land Grabbing Allegations, Sues Lawyer Over Claims Of Property Demolition
Tinubu’s ADC, Lt. Col. Nurudeen Yusuf, Denies Land Grabbing Allegations, Sues Lawyer Over Claims Of Property Demolition
In a statement issued on behalf of Yusuf, the traditional ruler’s solicitors said Abdulsalam published defamatory allegations against their client on October 27, 2026.
Lt. Col. Nurudeen Alowonle Yusuf, the Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to President Bola Tinubu and Elemona of Ilemona Land in Kwara State, has denied allegations of land grabbing and other misconduct levelled against him by a lawyer, N.D. Abdulsalam, Esq., following a dispute over the alleged demolition of the lawyer’s property.Follow Politics
Yusuf, through his solicitors, described Abdulsalam’s allegations as false, malicious and defamatory, disclosing that he had instituted criminal and civil defamation proceedings against the lawyer.
However, Abdulsalam has maintained that his allegations stem from a personal land dispute and a wider pattern of land seizures, property demolitions, assaults and intimidation involving the traditional ruler and people in communities around Ilemona.
The lawyer, who spoke with SaharaReporters, denied that he had been summoned by a court over the land dispute or that he had evaded any court proceedings relating to the matter. He alleged that the defamation cases were being used to discredit him and divert attention from his complaints about the alleged demolition of his property.
In a statement issued on behalf of Yusuf, the traditional ruler’s solicitors said Abdulsalam published defamatory allegations against their client on October 27, 2026.
The solicitors said the allegations were entirely false and lacked factual or evidential support, adding that they were deliberately designed to damage Yusuf’s reputation, integrity and standing in society.
According to the lawyers, their client had responded by filing a direct criminal complaint for criminal defamation under Section 391 of the Penal Code, identified as Suit No. UACIII/CRP/341/2026, as well as a civil defamation suit, Suit No. KWS/566/2026, against Abdulsalam.
The solicitors said the court processes were subsequently taken to Abdulsalam for service.
They explained that when the lawyer was contacted by phone regarding the documents, he refused to appear to receive them, prompting their client to seek a bench warrant under the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Kwara State.
The solicitors further claimed that Abdulsalam was evading lawful arrest and that the court processes had eventually been served through substituted service authorised by the court.
They also denied Abdulsalam’s allegation that officials in Abuja had threatened his life, insisting that he had merely been contacted for the purpose of serving the court documents.
The solicitors accused the lawyer of turning to the media instead of responding to the court processes, arguing that he should prove his allegations before the court.
They added that Yusuf had instructed them to pursue all available legal remedies to protect his interests and ensure justice.
Lawyer alleges demolition of his property
However, Abdulsalam told SaharaReporters that the dispute was not initiated by any court summons against him and insisted that his complaint concerned the seizure of land and demolition of buildings by Yusuf.
According to the lawyer, the dispute arose after Yusuf’s representatives contacted him over a parcel of land he said had previously been sold to him by the traditional ruler’s father and his son, who he identified as a former member of the Kwara State House of Assembly.
Abdulsalam said he had documents relating to the transaction and maintained that he was given papers confirming the purchase of the property.
He said that after he acquired the land, he developed it by constructing two residential buildings comprising two-bedroom flats.
The lawyer said Yusuf’s representatives later contacted him, expressing an interest in acquiring the land for another purpose.
“They called me from Elemona that the ADC wanted to buy my land. They wanted to use it for something. I said no, I was not selling,” Abdulsalam said.
He explained that despite his refusal to sell the property and the absence of an agreement to transfer ownership, he was subsequently informed that soldiers had arrived at the site alongside a bulldozer and were demolishing the buildings.
According to him, the structures were pulled down before any agreement was reached regarding the acquisition of the land.
Abdulsalam said he had voice recordings of conversations with a brother of Yusuf, which he claimed could help establish the sequence of events surrounding the dispute.
He also said he contacted the president of the Offa Descendants Union after the demolition, seeking intervention and a resolution.
Abdulsalam said community leaders subsequently intervened in the dispute and appealed to him to allow the matter to be resolved through negotiations.
According to him, the president of the Offa Descendants Union asked him to leave the matter for the community leaders to handle and assured him that he would be paid ₦25 million as compensation.
The lawyer, however, alleged that the promised payment had not been made.
He said he had yet to receive the money despite the intervention and assurances given to him.
Abdulsalam maintained that the demolition and subsequent failure to pay the promised compensation formed part of his complaint against Yusuf.
He said he was prepared to provide documents relating to the land transaction, photographs of the property and recordings of conversations he claimed were connected to the dispute.
The lawyer also alleged that the matter was not an isolated incident, claiming that other residents and landowners in neighbouring communities had experienced similar disputes involving land ownership and alleged demolitions.
Abdulsalam claimed that several people in communities around Ilemona had complained about losing land or having their properties destroyed.
He said that some residents had faced difficulties obtaining remedies through local institutions, claiming that people who reported disputes sometimes encountered pressure to seek reconciliation with the traditional ruler.
The lawyer further alleged that some people who went to farms had been assaulted and that complaints over such incidents had not always resulted in the remedies sought by those affected.
Abdulsalam also mentioned a neighbouring community whose traditional ruler, according to him, had complained about alleged encroachment on land.
The lawyer further said that the ancestral settlement of the Offa people had been affected by the land dispute. He claimed that both elderly and younger residents had lost access to land they considered theirs.
Responding to Yusuf’s solicitors’ statement that a bench warrant had been issued against him, Abdulsalam insisted that there had been no court summons against him concerning the original land dispute that he failed to honour.
He argued that the allegations against him were being presented in a way that could shift public attention away from his complaint over the demolition of his property.
The lawyer said he believed the defamation proceedings were connected to the land dispute and an attempt to discredit him before he could present his evidence.
Yusuf’s solicitors cite separate case involving Suara Agidingbadi
In their statement, Yusuf’s solicitors also referred to the case of one Suara Agidingbadi, whom they said had admitted in a confessional statement to unlawful possession of firearms.
The solicitors said Agidingbadi had been charged to court by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Kwara State.
They said the confessional statement and the first page of the charge sheet had been attached to their response as supporting documents.
The solicitors cited the matter while challenging Abdulsalam’s repeated attempts to bring Agidingbadi’s case into the public discussion.
