The Nkwazema family of Nekede, in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, has threatened to defend its ancestral land through all lawful means, accusing officials of the state government of attempting to forcefully take over the property.
The family alleged that some government officials, led by the Special Adviser to Governor Hope Uzodimma on Monitoring and Compliance, Nze Chinasa Nwaneri, invaded the disputed property with armed security operatives and allegedly evicted its occupants.
Speaking on behalf of the affected family, Felix Uchenna Ihemeze Nkwazema accused Nwaneri of allegedly mobilising a group of boys suspected to be thugs to destroy houses and other properties on the land, which he insisted had belonged to the family for generations.
Nkwazema expressed shock that immediately after the alleged destruction of their properties, Nwaneri and his men reportedly began erecting fences around the land.
He further alleged that the government official only marked out the graves of the family’s deceased parents before commencing the fencing of the property, which he described as covering more than 10 plots with residential buildings.
According to him, neither Nwaneri nor any other government representative formally approached the family to discuss the proposed acquisition of the land, adding that no compensation had been offered.
Nkwazema maintained that the family had occupied the property since time immemorial and had never been informed of any government plan to acquire it.
He argued that even if the government intended to acquire the property for public purposes, due process and appropriate compensation should have been followed.
“Even if the government indicated interest in the land, there is a procedure for that which was not followed.
“The government should also make its purpose of acquiring the land known to us. But surprisingly, none of these steps was applied before the invasion,” he said.
The family spokesperson further claimed that the Owerri City survey-plan documents relating to the property showed that the family had been in possession of the land since 1943.
He questioned why a government would allegedly attempt to displace citizens from their ancestral homes while members of the family were still alive.
Nkwazema insisted that the family would pursue every available legal avenue to protect its ownership rights and prevent what it described as an unlawful takeover of its property.
He also condemned the alleged arrest of one of their family members and claimed that sporadic gunshots during the incident forced residents to flee for safety.
Consequently, the family appealed to Governor Hope Uzodimma, the Inspector-General of Police, the Imo State Commissioner of Police and other relevant authorities to intervene and compel Nwaneri and his associates to stop interfering with their ancestral property.
“Our ancestral land has never been in dispute. We were never approached nor notified that the Imo State Government wants to take our land. We were not compensated and are now street urchins as Nwaneri and his thugs had rendered us homeless and restless,” Nkwazema lamented.
Efforts to reach Nwaneri and other relevant government officials for their reactions were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages sent to them had not been acknowledged as of the time of filing this report.
