An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan on Monday granted an interim order restraining Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, Commissioners and some Ibadan families from tampering with the disputed land pending the determination of the case.

This was as a result of persistent of alleged illegal activities on the 404.74 hectares of land that had been in dispute between the governor and some Ibadan families on the other.

The presiding judge, Justice Adegboye Gbolagunte in granting the order said that "the interim order is hereby granted on the 404.74 hectares of land situated in the Ibadan South West Local Government Area of Oyo State pending the hearing of application for interlocutory injunction filed by the Claimants / Applicants in the case."

This the judge explained was based on agreement of all the counsel in the case to maintain that, "there is need for positive order, pending the hearing and determination of interlocutory injunction dated May 2nd, 2013 filed by the Claimants/Applicants."

The families, who own the land in dispute had instituted the case against Ajimobi, the Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice and the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Survey over the non-release of the 404.74 hectares of land valued at N16bn formerly acquired by the Federal Government.

Earlier, Counsel to the claimants, Oluwasesan Dada had urged the court that if the judge could not hear the application for interlocutory injunction, he should make an interim order restraining all parties from the land.

He argued that despite the promise by all counsel to the parties in the dispute to maintain status-quo-ante pending the determination of the suit, "the agents of Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi are seriously working on the land with the police protection.

"We urge your lordship to make the interim order so that we can serve it on Oyo State Commissioner of Police and possibly the Inspector General of Police and at the end, we will know who to pursue, because, even, one of our senior counsel, Abiose who went to the land was driven back by the police giving protection to the people",the counsel argued further.

Counsel to Ajimobi, Nurudeen Abiola and his counterparts to other defendants did notnoppose the application following which Gbolagunte granted the order and subsequently fixed 10th of  February this year for hearing on the application for injunction as well as granted the claimants' application to amend their brief.

It would be recalled that during the hearing of the case last December when the issue was raised, Gbolagunte directed both counsel for the claimants and the defendants to warn their clients not to do anything that could affect the rest of the case.