…Residents Condemn Action, Describe It As Unlawful, Inhuman
There is palpable tension In Nekede Old Road in Owerri West Local Government Area following attempts by the Imo State Government to grab an ancestral land that lawfully and originally owned by the family of Nkwazema.
The said land is located at No 1 Bus Stop Nekede Old Road, Opposite ADC and Close to Protea Hotel, Owerri.
Residents of the area now go about with fear following the illegal arrest of Ifeanyi Ihemeze Nkwazema yesterday by the Tiger Base and sporadic shooting by the police.
The Imo State Government established Vigilante members were stationed on the land by Chinasa Nwaneri to guard labourers who were hired to break the ground for fencing.
Already Sharp sands, concretes and blocks have been heaped on the parcelled land awaiting fencing.
The said land, amounting to over Ten Plots of lands, according to the residents who spoke to journalists during investigation at the area, has been occupied by its owners since 1943 with Owerri City Survey Plan Documents intact.
The residents, who condemned the invasion of the said land by the Imo State Government through the Special Adviser to the Governor on Monitoring and Compliance, Nze Chinasa Nwaneri and his marauding boys, said it is uncalled for, for the government to displace occupants from their houses and forcefully took possession of it at their detriment, peril and displeasure.
“Even if the state government wants to acquire the land, normal legal procedures ought to have been taken. The family of Nkwazema is the rightful owners of the land and they have the right as citizens of Imo State to own land, build and live on it without any interference.
“Unfortunately, Chinasa Nwaneri has been using the police and thugs to invade ancestral lands that belong to the people, forcefully grabbing them and leaving their original owners displaced, wallowing in the streets and emotionally agonized”, the residents regretted.
They urged the State Government to immediately intervene and compel Chinasa Nwaneri and his boys to stop grabbing the land as it is lawfully and originally belongs to the family of Nkwazema who has been thrown into displeasure since the invasion.
