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From Joe Effiong, Uyo
Portions of land located to government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as companies and individuals to build their corporate headquarters and companies or factories, by the Akwa Ibom State government in the outskirts of Uyo, have been taken over by criminals.
Those listed to benefit from the land, allocated since the days of Obong Victor Attah’s administration, included Akwa Ibom State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, AKRUWATSAN, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the State Ministry of Agriculture, and the State Ministry of Transport.
The area which is located at Mbak Itam III in Itu LGA but still within the Uyo Capital City is now code-named Nasarawa and mainly populated by the Hausa/Fulani community, possibly because a section of it was allocated for the building of a mosque.
Ironically, instead of the mosque being built after more than 20 years, the place has rather been turned into a grazing area for cattle, an illegal scrap metal depot, unauthorized mechanic workshops and a haven for criminals.
The royal fathers of the community have however been fingered as collaborators with the settlers and squatters to illegally lease out portions of the land at the cost of N300,000 to whoever approaches them despite the fact that the land belongs to the government and acceptable compensation had since been paid to the owners.
Investigations also showed that the village head of the community, Chief Dominic Etim was allegedly fingered in certain activities unbecoming of the position of a community leader, for instance, some plots of land acquired by the state government were reported to be leased to individuals at the cost of three hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand naira, for commercial purposes, and with structures that suggested that the squatters were on a long period of lease.
A native of the community, Mr Akan Eyo, lamented that the community was struggling to coexist with their ‘visitors’, due to certain unfriendly activities being perpetrated by the Hausa/Fulani community.
“In the first place, this community is called Mbak Itam Three and not Nasarawa. Actually, cases of clashes do happen occasionally here, and in such cases, you will hear of disagreements relating to drug transactions, sexual abuse of under-aged girls and grazing on farmlands. And there is a primary school close by here and without any fence and you can imagine what happens to the school children here.
“Those are mainly the cases here; and encroachment on government-owned land, selling of scraps and illegal motor parks by the Hausa people. The encroachment might not really be a problem, because the government can take back its land at any time, but, before then, many terrible havoc shall have been wreaked on the community”. Eyo said.
Reacting to the problem, the state commissioner for lands and water resources, Capt. Iniobong Ekong (retd) said the government has the power to evoke the laws of the land to tackle the menace not only at Nasarawa but in all such settlements if squatters have turned them into crime dens.
“The power of land administration is with the government; if they have decided to allocate land for whichever purposes, that becomes law and it then becomes enforceable and whoever tries to play with the law will face judgement.
“I’m very conscious of the time left in the office. We’ll take one step at a time; when we get to Nasarawa/scrap metal point, we’ll take the decisions that affect us as a people and it would be lawful decisions.” Ekong said.
The Akwa Ibom State police command, which also admitted having knowledge of alleged criminal activities at Nasarawa, said through its spokesman, Odiko McDon, (DSP) that the command had taken steps to ‘sanitise’, and ‘calm’ the area, because “the police have the capacity to identify troublemakers and have been working with the leadership of Nasarawa to ‘nip in the bud any perceived challenge’”.
“We have received reports about certain criminal acts going on around the Nasarawa area. At one time or the other, we have had certain disagreements that have caused some form of unrest. But the place is now calm. It is just that we have within that area people who have come from different walks of life converging to carry out businesses.
“So, when you have a convergence of many people in a place that is not so big, you will expect some forms of criminalities which, if not controlled, might likely increase. That is what we found around there.
But I would like to disabuse the minds of members of the public that the place is not safe. It has been sanitised; the command is working very closely with the leadership of the place to ensure that the peace already existing is not truncated.” MacDon gave assurance.
