Land Speculators Invade Umunze Community

                                           

Palpable fear has griped Ndiabor community of Ugwunano, Umunze in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State following the invasion of those described by the rural dwellers as faceless land speculators who are said to have threatened to sell the community's ancestral forest reserve to foreigners and Abuja politicians.

 

Briefing journalists yesterday on the development at the community's town hall, Ndiabor Progressive Union (NPU) under the chairmanship of Nze Umeaka Christian, Bro Ndukwe Jude and Nze Uchenna Obi as President -General the union lamented that an area known as Ohiagu Ndiabor forest land was the  only inheritance of the ancient town bounded by the permanent site of the Federal College of Education Technical, Umunze which is now  under threat of being sold to unknown persons.

 

The union said it was the only forest reserve covering a vast expanse where the community members could still go for hunting expedition, explaining that the Ohiagu (tiger forest) still housed varieties of animals including tigers,  monkeys some strange animals and economic trees which the community would not like to toy with.

 

Protesting at the forest site,  placards displayed by the community members variously read: Don't Disposes Us Of Our Ancestral Land, Buyers Beware Of Ohiagu Ndiabor Forest Land Deal, Ohiagu Ndiabor Is Our Inheritance, Not For Sale even as the protesters vowed that heads would roll if the land speculators went ahead to carry out their secret act of selling the forest land which they said was preserved by their great great grand fathers.  They said the site was permanently reserved for afforestation.

        “Crisis looms in our community as we heard that some hooligans had secretly perfected plans to sell our ancestral land to Abuja politicians to disposes us of our land, game and economic trees thereon.  And we have discovered that these faceless people have decided to carry out their evil plan with the help of a group of people in the community,” the union had said in a petition to Anambra State Commissioner of police, copied to the traditional ruler of the entire Umunze community, Igwe Promise Eze and the Council Chairman, Barr Chigozie Onyeakpa.