Okwe Obi, Abuja
Nigerian Air Force and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have been urged to commence investigation into allegation of land grabbing involving security personnel in Enugu State.
The pressure is coming from Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), who claimed that it received photographic evidence and video alleged to be the vehicles driven to the site by Air Force personnel in the state.
Its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement yesterday, said under no circumstances should any Nigerian be deprived of his or her human and commercial rights to own immovable property in Nigeria unjustly.
He said: “HURIWA has urged the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar to investigate the serious allegation of misconduct of some officers of the Nigerian Air Force of Nigeria accused of being hired by Enugu State ministry of Housing to allegedly harass and intimidate legitimate land owners with a view to depriving them of their Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human rights to own immovable property in any part of the Country.
Onwubiko, said part of the petition he received and signed by a Counsel Obinna Ugwu read: “We are a firm of legal practitioners and solicitors and our services have been retained by the representatives of Umunnugwu and Ndiaga villages of Ugwuaji-Awkunanaw of Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State who for the purposes of this letter shall hereinafter be referred to as our clients and upon whose Express mandate and instruction we forward this complaint to you.”
He further asked the petitioners to seek redress through the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, “because their claims that those parading about as land owners who approached the Enugu State ministry of Housing to take over ownership of the juicy plots of lands had allegedly sold their lands to investors from all across the Country on the understanding that the allocations bought would be turned into a sprawling Estates in Enugu State.”
He however, stated that the Director, Public Relations and Information Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, had debunked earlier reports which indicted NAF personnel and also described it as not only, “laughable, unfortunate and ridiculous but also against all known ethics of Journalism,” on the part of HURIWA.