Obeagu Community Alleges Land Grabbers Attempt to Use Govt Institutions to Seize Their Land
The people of Obeagu Awkunanaw community in Enugu South local government area have cried out to the Enugu state government to intervene in a lingering matter of alleged land grabbing on their ancestral lands at the Centenary area.
In a press statement presented by the Secretary General of the Town, Chief Reuben Okafor, the community recalled various acts of intimidation meted out to their people including demolition of their structures which “are certainly not in tandem with the people-oriented policies of the Executive Governor of Enugu State, His Excellency, Barr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah who we all know has prioritized housing development as a way of demonstrating his love for Enugu State people and enhancing our welfare”.
Chief Reuben Okafor
They noted with disappointment that they were being dispossessed of the lands not as a matter of public interest,but rather to give it out to a private developer for his personal business interest.
“The saddest thing about the said demolition is that it was unleashed on us in order to hand over part of our communal lands to land grabbers who claim to be developers. The self-acclaimed developers who left their own lands and villages, towns and communities undeveloped, came with bags of deceit and beguiled or rather aroused the interest of some officials of the then Enugu State Government whose support they enlisted in securing the grant of a Certificate of Occupancy in respect of 1097 Hectares of land partly belonging to us and partly belonging to the Amechi Uwani community.
“The then Enugu State Government revoked the dubious Certificate of Occupancy issued to Private Estates International West Africa Ltd in November 2019 and published same in the Daily Sun Newspapers of 29th November, 2019. Upon revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy, Private Estates International West Africa Ltd went to court against the Enugu State Government in Suit No: E/1081/2019”, they recounted.
The community lamented that their worries became heightened with the recent information that plans were allegedly underway to use men of the state Forest Guards “to unleash them on our community, in another attempt to achieve the insatiable quest to forcefully seize our lands”.
The statement further reminded those in the acts, of pending court cases on the community land and should allow unhampered litigations to that effect.
They however expressed confidence in the responsiveness of the current state administration to avert further escalation of the matter.
“In light of the foregoing, we are calling for the intervention of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Barr Peter Mbah to rein in the above mentioned officials to respect the authorities of the court and allow the ongoing judicial process to run its course, and not to render the process nugatory.
“Luckily, our Governor is a renowned senior lawyer, and the Attorney General of our state is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), which has invariably placed our request in the safest hands.
“Without being repetitive, it is our respectful view that there are pending suits regarding this matter, and it will accord with civilized reasoning for parties to be patient to await the final outcome of the ongoing litigations”, they opined.
Further clarifying the community’s position, the traditional ruler of Obeagu community, Igwe Mike Nnaukwu insisted that the community would not succumb to the ploy to dispossess them of their inheritance using unverified authorities. 
Igwe Mike Nnukwu
Igwe Nnukwu condemned the activities of the alleged land grabbers who had continued to sell lands that did not belong to them and building houses without legal titles to the property.
” So, I advise them to go and think inwards, look inwards and find the best way to resolve this matter, because if they continue to delay it, the future may be blink for them and it might be too late for them”, Igwe Nnaukwu warned.
EDITOR
Sam Udekwe is a journalist working in the News and Current Affairs department, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) Enugu. He is well trained in all genres of journalistic venture.
Mr Sam read Mass Communication, graduating all with Distinction in National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma at IMT, Enugu and Madonna University, Okija, Anambra state, as well as M.Sc Mass Communication with Second Class(Upper Division) at National Open University of Nigeria.
He is the immediate past NUJ Chairman, Enugu state.
samowailo@gmail.com
