The Edo State Government has taken over a portion of land measuring 1229 hectares along the Irhirhi-Obazagbon-Ogheghe Road for the development of a new town.

The land was acquired in 2017 for the new town project but had been encroached upon by land speculators. The area repossessed used to be a forest reserve at the time of the acquisition.

The state government had declared a curfew in the area to make way for the exercise.

The repossession exercise is part of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s renewed campaign against land-grabbers in the state, aimed at restoring sanity in land administration in the state.