….Land belongs to government –LG boss
From Felix Ikem, Nsukka
The people of Amankwo Ekautara Ibeku Opi Community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State have accused the Chairman of the council, Chief Jude Asogwa, of forcefully taking over the community’s ancestral land without any notice or consultation.
Stakeholders in the community disclosed this in Nsukka yesterday while addressing newsmen after an on-the-spot assessment of the farms, economic trees and other valuables allegedly destroyed by a bulldozer on the order of the council chairman on Jan 17.
Speaking, HRH, Igwe Lordswell Eleje, the Traditional Ruler of the community, who spoke through his Legal Adviser Mr Osita Ogbu, expressed concern that the Nsukka Council Chairman could invade their communal land destroying buildings, farmlands, economic trees, among others without pre-notice to the leadership of the community.
He said: “The land in question is situated at Ukwuala Ugwurogo Ibeku which the people leased in 1976 to Bartoletti Nigeria Limited, a foreign construction company to use as a Base Camp for their staff during the construction of the 9th mile- Makurdi Expressway.
“At the end of the company’s construction work in 2007 the company handed over the land to the community who thereafter shared the land to natives, some of the owners have since developed and erected structures on their portions.
“To our greatest surprise, on January 17, we woke up only to see a bulldozer from Nsukka LG with scores of armed security personnel providing security to the bulldozers while it destroyed our buildings farmlands, economic trees, among others.”
He, however, expressed the community’s readiness to peacefully negotiate with Nsukka Local Government to resolve the matter.
Also speaking, Mr Ifeanyi Agbo, the President General of Ekautara Ibeku Opi Community expressed disappointment that the community was not given early information by the council before rolling out bulldozer into the community.
Abonyi appealed to youths in the community and those whose land had been affected to remain calm, promising to see the matter resolved amicably.
Mr Silas Ezugwu, the Eldest man in the community, said he had no prior notice that the local government was coming to take over their land for anything.
“To the best of my knowledge, there was no time the community gave the said land to local government, it’s Customary Court we gave land and everybody in the community knows the boundary.
“I am appealing to Gov. Peter Mbah to call the council chairman to order by telling him to leave our ancestral land alone for us,” he said.
However, when contacted, Asogwa, (Nsukka LG Chairman), said that the land in question belongs to the Enugu State Customary Court, explaining that the council had reached an agreement with the court before taking over the land for development.
“Nsukka local government did not enter into the Amankwo Ekautara Ibeku Opi ancestral land. You should know that by the Land Use Acts 1978, government has the right over every piece of land, so government can take and develop any land for overriding public interest.
“But in this case, this land was given to Customary Court many decades ago by the community, our target is to expand Afor Opi market using the land so that the market will absorb activities that would crop up in the area after the dualization of Nike-Opi Nsukka road, 9th mile-Makurdi Expressway and 9th mile-Awhum-Ukehe-Opi road.
“So, the land we are clearing belongs to the Customary Court Opi, and we reached an agreement with the State Customary Court to take over the land and develop it and there are documents signed and given to the council by the President of Enugu State Customary Court,” he said.
The council boss denied the allegation that the council did not give the people prior notice before rolling out a bulldozer to clear the area.