Anambra Residents Protest Over Land Grab, Property Destruction
Residents of Umueze Ogwugwu Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State, have staged a protest claiming that a government-affiliated property developer is attempting to seize their ancestral land by force.
The protesters, who carried placards with various inscriptions including “Soludo come to our rescue,” “We have no other land,” “Bukham Group in collaboration with a few of our sons have sold our land,” and “We can’t be tenants in our own land,” alleged that the company, working under the government authority, had demolished buildings and destroyed farmland, cash crops, and economic trees worth over N1billion.
Speaking to journalists during the protest, the community’s president, Mr Emeka Motanya, lamented the extent of damage allegedly caused by the demolition.
“Property estimated over N1 billion that included buildings, farmland, economic trees, farm produce, etc., have been destroyed and a good number of plots of land sold off since the commencement of the land dispute,” Motanya said.
He added that the developer had exceeded the portion of land originally allocated for the construction of the proposed Anambra State International Market.
“Just this morning, they continued the destruction of our economic crops and other property. They left the place we gave them for the building of the Anambra State International Market and extended it.
“They have almost taken possession of where we are living. Some of us, out of fear, have fled to neighbouring communities of Oraifite and Akwukwu,” he said.
Motanya appealed to the state Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the House of Representatives member representing Idemili North/South, Hon. Harris Okonkwo, and the chairman of Idemili South Local Government Area, Hon. Mrs Amaka Obi, to intervene before the community is displaced entirely.
“If no help comes our way, they will wipe us out and Oba will be eight villages instead of nine,” he warned.
The community president, who spoke through the community’s secretary general, Samuel Onwukwe, further alleged that the developer had continued the destruction previously led by one Sonny Bigman.
“The developer should only take the portion we allocated to him for the construction of the market as agreed.
“About five months ago, it was Sonny Bigman who led a destructive team that caused severe damage to our property and buildings. Today, this developer has continued from where Sonny Bigman stopped,” he stated.
The vice president of the youth wing of the community, Mr Chikodili Madu, recalled that their forefathers had secured a Supreme Court judgment in favour of the community and expressed dismay that their victory was being undermined.
“The developer and his team feel we don’t have anyone to assist us,” Madu said.
Another community member, Nwagbologu Muotuanya, accused the developer of colluding with “a few of our sons” to sell off more portions of land.
“We have written many petitions to various offices on the illegal activities of these people, but the petitions are dumped without asking questions,” he lamented.
Also speaking, the president of the women’s wing of the community, Mrs Chukwuma Rose, described the situation as devastating.
“Umueze Ogwugwu is currently being destroyed, and our buildings built by our husbands have been destroyed,” Rose said.
“The farmland, farm produce, and economic trees have all been destroyed, and we now live in perpetual fear, which prompted this protest,” she added.
“Soludo should help us because some of us are running to neighbouring communities of Oraifite and Akwukwu,” she pleaded.
However, when contacted, Rev. Chris Emerie, the chairman of the 14-man panel of enquiry set up by the traditional ruler of Oba, Igwe Augustine Chinedu Emelobe, denied the allegations made by the protesters.
“It is the clearing of the bushes to ascertain the demarcation of the land that is going on as agreed in the presence of the monarch, who wants to ensure peace. Some members of the panel are from Ogwugwu, and no structure was touched,” Emerie said.
Another panel member, Mr Samuel Onuchukwu, said that the land in question had long been acquired by the Anambra State Government.
Onuchukwu explained, “Communities do not give land to the government; instead, the government acquires it. The land in question was acquired by the state government during the late Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju’s administration on May 30, 2001, with some sections later allocated as compensation to Ogwugwu Oba village.” As of press time, neither the state government nor Bukham Group had issued an official statement on the issue.
