Can of worms in Ebonyi over dubious land deal

Governor David Umahi and his Umuchima kinsmen of Uburu Community in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State may have an axe to grind if the current land dispute involving the governor, Ebonyi State government and the people of Umuchima is to be taken into account. SAMSON NWAFOR writes on the brewing land disputes which has drawn bad blood, in recent time.

Uburu community comprises of 14 villages, namely: Umunaga, Amenu, Umuoduigbo, Umuanum, Umuchima, Umuaneketa, Mgbom, Uhuaba,Amegu, Ogwu, Umuobuna, Umuag wuoke, Urobo and Ihenu. Umunaga village where Governor Umahi hails from shares a common boundary with Umuchima, the largest village, both in terms of land mass and population.

Investigations revealed that since Umahi became the governor of Ebonyi State, Umuchima people have been having unresolved issues with him (Umahi) over what they described as forceful takeover of their lands allegedly by the governor, without compensations, discussion or dialogue.

The issue came to a head a week ago when some youths of Umuchima allegedly destroyed a session of the fence of the ongoing Ebonyi State College of Medicine Project in the area.

In retaliation, some government officials from Uburu community allegedly led youths to Umuchima village and demolished houses and other properties of the villagers. Policemen and soldiers were also drafted to the village allegedly on the orders of the governor. A lot of persons, it was gathered, were arrested, while many others fled the village for fear of arrest and incarceration.

Unable to bear the situation, aged women, men and youths of Umuchima village penultimate Saturday, embarked on a peaceful protest, round the community.

The natives, who said they were not against the state government siting any development projects in the village, alleged that their ancestral lands were now being forcefully taken for personal use in the name of government.

They further accused the governor of siting all the projects in his Umunaga village and was only grabbing their ancestral lands at the boundaries to continue the development of his village.

The protesters who were in their hundreds, carried placards bearing inscriptions such as, “No to Fulani settlement at Enuebor Umuchima”, “Ebonyi State Government respect the sanctity of ancestral homes,” “Our children are dying of hunger, stop destroying our economic trees,” Dave Umahi leave our ancestral lands alone,” and save, rebuild our ancestral homes you destroyed”. The protesters marched round their demolished homes and major parts of Uburu community.

They also alleged that the government officials from the area were using cultists and security agents to harass and intimidate members of the village.

The people further accused the governor and government of Ebonyi State of destroying over 20 houses and arresting over nine members of the village for voicing out against injustice meted against them.

They demanded that the government should stop using soldiers and cultists to harass them, alleging that they were living in perpetual fear of maim and intimidation by security agents.

Speaking on the development, a native of Umuchima and former governorship candidate of the Independent Democratic (ID), in Ebonyi State in 2019, Mr. Uchechukwu Obasi, urged the state government, to expedite action in restoring peace and order at Umuchima community, saying it was high time illegal arrests and destruction of property in the area, stopped.

The former flagbearer of the ID in the state, alleged that ancestral lands belonging to natives of the area had been confiscated, stressing that economic trees in the area, were also being destroyed.

Obasi stated this during a press conference, in Abakaliki, on Wednesday, maintaining that it was naturally fair for the government to stop intimidation and harassment of poor indigenes of the area.

“In the recent weeks, I have been inundated with calls from my kinsmen alleging wanton destruction of their properties, Gestapo arrest and intimidation of worthy indigenes cum balkanization, annexation and unlawful seizure of their ancestral lands, homes and economic trees by the agents of the state government and their cronies.

“Swiftly, I did put a call across to two of our sons who are somewhat close to the government, viz; Professor Enyi Patrick Enyi and Mr. Chris Enyi Ore. While the former picked the first call put across to him, the latter had refused taking any of my calls to his cell phone, neither returning same. In the defense of the Gestapo arrest of our people, the professor said they were arrested owing to their antecedents and for taking the government to court over an ancestral land.

“Left in shock, I reached out to some of the other people named for arrest but who for fear of their life had ran out of the community – Umuchima.”

Obasi went further to give the background of the bone of contention thus:

“Industrial cluster initiated by this administration during her first tenure was cited in Uburu the home town of the governor cutting across the ancestral lands of two villages: Umunaga (the governor’s village) and Umuchima (the bleeding community). Unfortunately, this was done without due consultation, processes and adequate compensation. Surprisingly, the official gazette recognised Umunaga as the bonafide owner of the land with no credit to Umuchima. I remembered engaging Chris Enyi Ore on the matter and he lamented that Umuchima community appears helpless with no help in sight.

“Then came the governor again that he needs another expanse of land for infrastructural development. And my people said, yes, we are willing to donate hence it guarantees great future for our people living and yet unborn. But with the caveat that the governor must acknowledge receipt of the said land. Rather than continue the process initiated, the state government chose divide and rule approach, claiming seizure on the guise that the land is in contention between Umuchima community and Ihenu. Lies. Not too long, it surfaced that the land in question was being acquired in the name of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited. Then, some of our people took the government to the court.”

Another stakeholder from the village, Mr. Ogbonnaya Okey (Prince Kenayas) in an interview, accused Governor Umahi of using the name of government to forcefully takeover their ancestral lands, even as he said the village was not against development.

Okey further told Umahi to wear a human face, and respect the fundamental rights of the people of Umuchima village.

He said, “Nobody is against development; and of course, we are happy that the governor is from our place. Umuchima is the biggest village, in terms of land mass and population, out of the 14 villages of Uburu community. When David Umahi became Governor, there is this land dispute between Umuchima and Ihenu people. Ihenu is a neighbouring village which is also part of Uburu autonomous community.

“Being our brother, he said he does not want the kind of crisis that happens in other places to happen in his own community. So, he came into the matter. But some of us were not happy the way our land was ceded to Ihenu people and we suspected a foul play. We later discovered that Ihenu people have gone behind our back to donate the disputed land to Governor Umahi.

“A few other persons from our village who don’t have even a parcel of land within the area in dispute also backed the ceding of the land to the governor. When the governor came and said he had resolved the matter and that the two villages involved had given him the land, I was opportune to see the documents signed in respect to that land and it was done in a company’s name. It was not donated to Ebonyi State Government, but to a company owned by the Governor. Some persons went to court, and the case is still pending in court.

“If you go to governor’s compound in Umunaga, you will see how large that compound is. Most of those lands are forcefully taken from Umuchima people. The College of Medicine is on Umunaga and Umuchima land but we have no problem with that, because it is for development. The industrial cluster is sitting on Umunaga land, but he expanded it to Umuchima land. And we didn’t complain even though we don’t know whether that cluster is a state government cluster or personal project. Until it starts functioning we will know.

“He brought Federal Housing estate project to the land of Umuchima at Enuegu Umuchima. Now, he wants to build an estate, a federal government project that involves land of individuals where our ancestors were buried without any recourse to our people. Even though Land Use Act empowers a governor to take over a land, but such should be for the public’s interest. And you cannot take over a land for a public interest without compensating the owner of the land.

“At least, let us know at which point are you taking the land and to where. The owners of these lands, what are their compensations? Some of these lands are people’s farm lands and ancestral homes, how are you going to give them alternative source of livelihood. They have even started demolishing and destroying people’s house there without any recourse to the people.

“What the governor did was that he gave out N2 million to some members of his party who came to his house to share. Is that the compensation?

“Now, they said some people broke a fence of the College of Medicine. Personally, I don’t condone that; that’s a violent act, but that’s why we have the police. It does not call for the invitation of soldiers in a civil environment, as he did.

“The governor, out of anger, mobilised his Development Centre Coordinators who went to Umuchima and started demolishing poor people’s buildings and other properties with military protection. People of Umuchima were also being arrested and incarcerated. The villagers are currently on the run. We demand for discussion and dialogue with the governor, because we think he has been speaking with wrong people. He must deal with owners of the lands or their representatives as appointed by them.

“We don’t want to be living in fear. It takes courage for me to even be speaking to the press, because by tomorrow, my name will be added to the list of those they want. We don’t want to continue to live in fear in Uburu.

“There should be adequate compensation to the people whose lands have been taken, and of course, you don’t take people’s belongings by force, it should be through discussion and dialogue. We shouldn’t be harassed by the police and soldiers every now and then. And we want to be carried along in any project that is brought to our village. Whether it is a government or personal project, we need to know. Nobody should take our land in the name of government.”

Also, Mr. Ikechukwu Obasi from Umuchima, said, “We reject a situation where development is forced down on the throat of the people. We all want development. But it is not forced down on the throat of the people. The right thing should be done; and we are averse to any form of injustice by way of intimidation, threat and wanton arrest.

“We are calling for peace and the right thing should be done. You need to get the consensus of the people, their approval over issues like this and resettle, when necessary. The government should follow due process and the people that have been illegally arrested and incarcerated without fair hearing, should be released. Also, wanton arrest and intimidation of citizens should cease.”

Another native of Umuchima, Mr. Ezinwa James, told our correspondent that they were against the invasion of their ancestral homes and farmlands by the government, saying peace had left the area, since 2020 when the state government allegedly invaded the area, scrambling for a communal land.

According to James, “The Ebonyi State Government just entered the communal lands and started seizing them, claiming it was going to site some projects in the area. This was in 2020 and till date, the governor didn’t consult anybody, not even the traditional leaders of the community. This is sheer desecration of respected and established traditional institutions. This is unacceptable and we cannot take it.

“People’s homes, over 20 of them had been demolished in the area and there’s ongoing desecration of sacred places. This is evil. Our young men and women have been arrested, and aside this, people’s farmlands are destroyed. There is now jungle justice in Umuchima and it is only God that can help us. As we speak, many of us no longer sleep in our homes, for fear of midnight arrest and abduction.”

Another resident, Lawrence Onuorah, told our correspondent that the state government was allegedly planning outright extinction of people of the entire area, wondering why it had not taken concrete steps to addressing the situation, since it began.

Onuorah said, “This is not how to do things, even if you are well-placed. You should try and respect the right of others. The government is using a few people (politicians) to get at the village people. But we will not allow them. We know them and we will continue to reject their plans.”

But Ebonyi State Government, through the Commissioner for Information, Barrister Uchenna Orji, in a swift reaction, denied the allegations, saying that what happened in the village, had nothing to do with either the state government or its officials. It added that those, who were arrested, were allegedly involved in malicious damage.

According to the Commissioner, “You need to appreciate the difference between a people of a community and a disgruntled few of a community. The people of Umuchima, made of the stakeholders, the youth leadership, the traditional rulers and the people of Umuchima both home and abroad, have given their full support to the government presence in the community.

“And that is the issue of Federal Low-Cost Housing, which the civil servants and indeed the indigenes of that place will benefit. Full consultations made, certification made and consent given by the entire leadership and the good people of the community, including youths. Long ago, there was a groundbreaking of a federal housing project in that place that will bring about social security that will bring about so many economic activities in the place. That will enhance the economic activities of that place and the state in general and further appreciate the land value in the place, and will warrant so many other ancillary activities to the place.

“So, nobody raised any alarm, but just a few disgruntled people in that community who have decided to behave like hoodlums. This is either because they were uninformed or they were misinformed about the good intentions of the government of Ebonyi State.

“Don’t forget that these housing projects are not just in Ohaozara Local Government Area, it’s also in Izzi Local Government Area and people are looking for it, including my own local government area of Ivo, to be sited in their domains. But this has graciously come to Umuchima.

“And so, no person is against it, except a few who must have been brainwashed. Having said that, what happened has no connection, whatsoever with the state government or government officials. If anybody was about to commit a crime and the youths went after the disgruntled individuals who were involved in malicious damage and handed them over to the police.”

It is the fear of the stakeholders that if the issues are not properly handled, the crisis brewing in the area may outlive the present administration.  (Sunday Independent)