Protest in Enugu community over land dispute

HUNDREDS of indigenes of Akpgazi-Mbano autonomous community in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, last week, staged a peaceful  protest to Enugu over alleged forcibly acquisition of their ancestral land.

The angry villagers alleged that two serving police officers in Lagos State whose names were given as ASP Richard Okoh and Sgt Desmond Okoh were behind the land acquisition, adding that they also arrested the Igwe of the community two weeks ago.

Some placards read: “Mr Richard Okoh, leave our land alone; Richard Okoh is a threat to the community; he has carried our Igwe, now he has come to carry our land,”   “Mr Okoh, leave our land and stop threatening us and IG of Police and Commissioner of Police, come to our aid.”

The protesting villagers were, however, addressed by the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who thanked them for embarking on a peaceful protest and told them to send their representatives instead of marching en masse to the commissioner’s office.

Amaraizu advised them to write out their grievances and present a copy for onward transmission to the Commissioner of Police who was in a meeting at the time.

A senior police officer, DSP Godwin Akor, who also addressed the protesters, thanked them for their orderly manner and asked them not to take laws into their hands but allow the police to carry out investigation into the matter and report back to them.

Akor said that the police authorities would invite the DPO in charge of Enugu East as well as the OC SARS over the issue to get to the root of the matter and assured that as long as it was not a court that asked Messrs Richard and Desmond Okoh, to possess the land, there was no way they would acquire the land.

Spokesman of the protesters, Comrade Chika Anike, said they were at the police headquarters to appeal to the Commissioner of Police to intervene in the matter, stressing that Okoh was allegedly using his position as a police officer to threaten their community with the aim of acquiring their communal land.

“This is a communal land and he is using his position as a police officer to bulldoze and destroy our farms.  He cannot intimidate and possess our land,” Anike said.

The youth leader pointed out that their traditional ruler, Igwe Edwin Edeoga was aware of their position, adding that the police officer had even arrested their Igwe because he told him to leave the communal land.

“Our Igwe is aware that we are here and he, Richard, even arrested  the Igwe because he told him to leave the land because it is a communal land.  The land is about 1,000 plots and Richard is claiming ownership of the land.  We want the police to intervene in the interest of peace,” the youth leader said.

Also, the traditional ruler of Akpogazi-Mbano Nike, Igwe Edwin Sunday Edoga disclosed  how he was arrested by armed policemen and was whisked away to police headquarters.

Igwe Edoga, who condemned the arrest, said  that it was unlawful and a sacrilege for the policemen to invade his house and arrest him inside his bed room while on bed rest according to the directives of his doctor.

Meanwhile,  the community through a counsel, Barrister Ikenna Nweke, had written the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIGP, Zone 9, Umuahia, Abia State to intervene in the land dispute.

The counsel in the letter titled: “Re-threat by officers of Nigeria Police Force; ASP Richard Okoh and SGT Desmond Okoh to breach peace at Akpogazi Nike, and plea for immediate intervention,” had alleged that the two officers wanted to use their positions in the police to disrupt the peace and tranquility of the area by venturing into their communal land.

Subsequently,  on March 8, 2017, the counsel, Nweke, wrote another passionate letter in regard to the dispute to the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, alleging that the said policemen were still going on with their intimidation and harassment of the community even to the extent of arresting their Igwe and disgracing him publicly.