Idahosa Moses – Benin City
Locals in Edo State Communities have vowed to resist the State Government’s decision to allegedly cede their lands to some multinational in the state without the consent of the people.
The people described the decision by the state government to forcefully acquire their ancestral lands and cede them to investors, as a subtle means of telling them to go into extinction.
The Coalition Against Land Grabbing & Deforestation (CALD), supported by Okpamakhin Communities Initiative, who stated this on Thursday in Benin City, said the people have resolved to take back their lands.
Addressing the press, the Coordinator, and founder of Okpamakhin Communities Initiative, Comrade Tony Erha, said that they have over the past ten years conducted 28 protests to draw government attention but all fell on deaf ears.
He said they have instituted a case billed for hearing at the Ecowas court and other lower courts with the hope that justice will be delivered
Erha maintained that, despite the cases at the ECOWAS and lower Courts, the people have been subjected to hardship and denied access to Agricultural produce.
He urged the people to consider voting for the right people ahead of the state House of Assembly to liberate them from untold hardships.
Curtis Ogbebor, who also added his voice on behalf of the Evbuesi Community in the Orhionmwon Local Government Area, claimed his people are currently facing similar situations.
He condemned the deforestation of reserves meant for the people which he said, play pivotal roles in environmental and health reservations within the communities.
Ogbebor urged the government to reconsider the decision, stressing that governments at all levels are meant to hold land in trust for the people, citing Section 1 of the 1978 Land Decree, for his claims.
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