Anambra Community Raises Alarm, Seeks Govt's Intervention, as Armed Men Allegedly Invade Their Ancestral Lands with Caterpillar

Dec 13, 2024 - 18:53
Dec 14, 2024 - 05:01
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Anambra Community Raises Alarm, Seeks Govt's Intervention, as Armed Men Allegedly Invade Their Ancestral Lands with Caterpillar

 

By Our Correspondent

The people of Igbollo Village, Achalla Village and Iruobieli Village, three of the four villages that make up Mbanano Community of Enugwu-Agidi in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, have re-echoed their call on the state government to intervene on the lingering land related dispute rocking the community.

The call is coming following the alleged re-invasion and encroachment into their ancestral land by some land grabbers and their heavily-armed thugs.

Sources from the villages said the men who arrived early last week are currently in the land with their caterpillar, destroying and leveling every portion, including their crops and other economic trees. They also noted that the land in question and other adjoining portions are jointly owned by the four villages that make up Mbanano community/zone —Achalla, Iruobieli, Igbollo, and Ifite villages. They, however, further revealed that the people of Ezinano community in Awka have been invading and laying claim ownership of the land since over 86 years ago — a tussle that has seen many court litigations since then and in recent time.

However, the Chairmen of the three out of the four villages that make up Mbanano Community Enugwu-Agidi — the Igbollo Village Chairman, Mr. Chuks Egwuekwe; the Achalla Village Chairman, Mr. Obinna Okoyeocha; and the Iruobieli Village Chairman, Mr. Ementa Nwansiobi have recently raised an alarm over the re-invasion of the land by the notorious land grabbers.

Speaking on behalf of others, in an interview with this reporter, the Igbollo Village Chairman, Mr. Chuks Egwuekwe, recalled that the case has tarried for years, while the alleged land grabbers have continued to invade their lands, despite rulings and orders so far given by different courts.

It was gathered that the case, which dates back to 1938, eventually lingered till 1954 when the then West African Court of Appeal (WACA) delivered a landmark judgment in favour of Mbanano Enugwu-Agidi as the rightful owners of the land.

According to reports, several years after the 1954 court victory, the people of Ezinano Awka surfaced again and filed another suit at a High Court, challenging the Mbanano's ownership of the land again. The ruling on this new suit, it was gathered, was given on October 23, 2013, when the High Court, in its judgment, again reaffirmed Mbanano Community as the rightful owners of the land, upholding and validating the earlier judgment by WACA.

It was further gathered that both before and after the 1954 landmark judgment by the West African Court of Appeal (WACA) and the succeeding judgment of the Nnewi High Court in 2013 which are all in favour of the Mbanano community; these said portions of land had been in the custody of the Mbanano villagers, with each of the four villages peacefully utilizing their own portion for various economic activities, including farming, palm wine tapping, and other agrarian endeavours.

It was, however, alleged that the tranquility of the area was disrupted sometime in 2018 when some elements from the Ezinano community in Awka, led by one Ozo Jeff Nweke, surfaced from nowhere and began to re-challenge the legitimacy of the Mbanano community's ownership of the land, now in a brutal, destructive and physically confrontational way.

Reports further have it that the people of Ezinano Awka, in 2018, went further to appeal the 2013 judgment of the High Court, which, even when the appeal was yet to be heard by the court, they launched a campaign of intimidation with armed thugs, forcibly entering the disputed land, even to the point that they began removing government-installed beacons, destroying property, and terrorizing the local populace, thereby rendering them unable to access their land.

It was, however, gathered that, in pursuance of the case, Ezinano Awka community also lost woefully in their appeal, when the Appeal Court, on June 11, 2020, also declared Mbanano Enugwu-Agidi the rightful owners of the land in another landmark judgment, and further issued an order restraining the people of Ezinano Awka from entering any part/portion of the land, including that belonging to the Igbollo, Achalla, and Iruobieli villages.

The Igbollo Village Chairman, Mr. Egwuekwe, however, expressed shock and worry that despite all these court judgments and the court order, the accused, Ozo Nweke and his cohorts have continued to invade their lands with armed thugs, even to the point that many Mbanano villagers, including women, who own farmlands in the area have repeatedly escaped death with severe injuries, as a result of tragic attacks launched on them and the intimidations meted out to them by the said armed thugs who were allegedly engaged and stationed inside the bushes by Nweke. According to him, these armed thugs also usually confront the armless villagers whenever they go to check on their farmlands and economic trees in the area.

He also recounted what he described as terrible ordeals of some villagers who had been beaten to stupor right inside the bush in the parts of the land, when they went to check on their farmlands in the area, only to be confronted by a gang of heavily-armed hoodlums, many of whom were also alleged to be members of Nweke's private security outfit.

Egwuekwe, however, noted that the armless villagers, in their resilience, have been cultivating the land, though always exposed to high level of risk. He added that they also cultivated thereon last year and this year.

Howbeit, he said, while they were anticipating bountiful harvest, he received a distress call from his people of Igbollo village sometime last week that some group of boys invaded the land again with caterpillar and began to destroy everything in there, including their mature and still-growing crops and other economic trees in the land.

According to him, upon receiving the report, he proactively sued for calm from his people, who were already full of anger beholding such destructive invasion, especially given the extent of damage done to their crops and farmlands, which have now been cleared and leveled with caterpillar, amidst the current economic crunch and food scarcity in the country.

Mr. Egwuekwe said the village youths, however, mobilized themselves, and upon getting to the land the following morning, they intercepted and chased out the contracted workers they met there and their caterpillars. This was corroborated by videos from the site, clips of which are also attached in this report.

He, however, noted that the land grabbers returned to the land the next morning with about 50 thugs, now fully armed with their guns and caterpillar, ready and willing to ’destroy’. He said, upon hearing this, he made efforts to calm the armless villages youth, preventing them from going to confront the armed thugs, to avoid bloodshed or any bloody clash between them. This, he said, was to enable them explore peaceful means of resolution as usual.

“Today, as I speak to you, they are still there now with thugs, clearing our land and destroying our crops. I have been the one withholding our youths from confronting them, because we're a peaceful people.

“We don't want to confront them; we want to explore all possible means of peaceful resolution. We will not fight them; but I am not permanently assuring that, because, very soon, these youths may lose all patience, and they can resort to anything. So, this people should leave our ancestral land for us,” he cautioned.

While noting that they had written several petitions to the state government over the recurring invasion of their land, but to all no avail; the Chairman consequently re-echoed the Villagers' call for the intervention of the Anambra State Government, led by Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, and other relevant authorities to urgently intervene on the issue. This case, he said, should be given the deserved urgent and necessary attention, especially considering how long it has lasted, the extent of discomfort, losses and damages it has caused for the people of the villages and other members of Mbanano community since it started till date, despite all the victories they have secured in various litigations at different court levels regarding the case.

“How long shall we continue to have this patience, endure, recount these losses and live in fear in our own land? We have repeatedly called for government's interventions; and it's high time the government urgently intervened to prevent further losses and damages,” Mr. Egwuekwe passionately appealed.

Similarly, the Igbollo Village Chairman's narrative and account of the land dispute was corroborated by that of the Security Chairman of the village, Engr. Victor Onwudinjo, who also recounted the various security threats that have resulted from the activities of the notorious land grabbers. He further added that parts of the land that are not frequently accessed by the people due to fear of attack by the thugs have now become hideouts for kidnappers and other criminal elements to perpetrate heinous crimes.

While also identifying Nweke as the key facilitator and chief principal actor in the lingering land dispute, he, however, noted that he is being aided by some of his few cohorts from Enugwu-Agidi, whom, he said, include one Izuchukwu Okafor (the alleged leader of other cohorts from Enugwu-Agidi); one Ozoemena Obiora (who hails from Achalla village, but has allegedly been banned unanimously by the village); one Moses Nwuba (an accomplice); and one Chiedozie Igweonwu (another accomplice).

“But we have our evidence and all the relevant documents, including the proof of ownership and everything that show that we are the true owners of land,” he said.

Continuing on the efforts they are making to reclaim their land, Engr. Onwudinjo said: “Our appeal is already before the government. And there is another general appeal, because we are doing it as a people of Mbanano community. This is collectively Mbanano Enugwu-Agidi land, and we are peaceful people, following everything peacefully.

“Although, we have been countlessly provoked by this land grabbers, we are not going to do anything unlawful. We are not going to confront anybody illegally with weapons or anything, no. But if it's possible to safely stop them from tearing and clearing further into our land, like we did today, we'll continue doing that armlessly.”

“While we call and wait for government's urgent intervention, we will continue to monitor and protect our land while also respecting the rule of law. But government should know that delay is very dangerous, and should address the matter urgently before it turns bloody again. Our youths are gradually losing their patience and tolerance over this unwarranted provocation and encroachment into their communal heritage. Urgent action is highly needed from the government,” he concluded.

However, earlier when this reporter contacted him for his reaction to the allegations, Ozo Nweke, who was accused as a principal actor in the land tussle, declined to comment on the allegations and claims by the people of Mbanano, stressing that he would not say anything until he sees the allegations.

He, however, in the same telephone interview, later claimed that “the people are liars”, adding that “they should go to court.”

Source: 247ureports

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