Abagana On Fire As Old Men Run For Their Lives, 30 Families Attacked, Crops Economic Trees Destoyed

                                     

 

protesters at Igwe Mbamalu Okeke compound

Land crisis erupted in Amagu Village, Umudachi Orofia part of Abagana community in Njikoka local government area of Anambra state which could have been bloody but for the quick intervention of the traditional ruler of Abagana community, Igwe Patrick Mbamalu Okeke and the Commissioner of Police Usman Gwary who sent his men although belatedly.

                                                

 odogwuemekaodogwu.com exclusively reports that before Igwe Mbamalu rushed to literally bring the DPO, CSP Emenike Vendy to ask those destroying the lands, crops, cash crops and property valued several millions of naira to stop further action, many things have been destroyed with members of the land management committee on the run for their lives.

They protested to the Traditional ruler of Abagana , Obi Patrick Mbamalu Okeke  and they Divisional Police Officer ,Commissioner of Police, Usman Gwary;  DPO , Abagana CSP Emenike Vendy and the Director of State Security Services (SSS) Anambra state to intervene before it degenerates to bloodletting. They petitioned Governor Willie Obiano to intervene urgently.

Narrating their ordeal, Patron of Umudachi ,Amagu Village Land Management Committee Chief Emmanuel Ezekwueche , Ichie Ekwenezeneme said they nearly lost their lives when the youths with thugs aided allegedly by policemen attacked their crops, economic crops pulling down some of their fences.  

                                            

Chief Ezekwueche said the land their brothers are claiming is a community land is not community land but individual lands people bought from different groups but hinted that the community had collectively 40 plots f land which has been shared according to families in Umudachi, adding that those behind the agitation to enter into people’s private land in the name of fighting for common patrimony of Umudachi  could create intra communal war and crisis of high magnitude and sued for peace despite property and economic trees planted upwards of 30 to over 90 years ago have been uprooted in one fell swoop.

He lamented that the action of the so called Adhoc Land Audit Committee (ALAC), comprising three members each from Umunaja, Umuadiike and Umuanyanom with alleged thugs and youths against properly constituted community leadership is unbecoming and condemnable.

On his part the Secretary of  Umudachi land management committee, a retired principal of school, Ichie Francis Umeadi-Obiji lamented that high yielding palms; bread fruits and all kinds of economic trees belonging to private individuals in their farms were destroyed adding that they pulled down his fence. He said his family had lived on the land for over 100 years as his uncle Late Nwolisa Obiji-Ekpe died at the age of 90 years and gave the land to his two living  brothers of which he is the first born of  Peter .

He alleged that the so called committee asked for the minuets and documents of the Umudachi in his possession which he refused to let go as their tenure has not elapsed. He said he informed them to wait until after election and have all they demanded.

Another young victim , Michael Okoye  who returned from North as after effect of Boko Haram lamented that the economic trees that would be surviving him as an orphan  had been uprooted in a one fell swoop decrying a situation brothers had to pull fences down and enter the compounds of others destroying economic trees and farm lands.

Addressing the protesting Umudachi people, Igwe Mbamalu Okeke informed them that he has written the Director of SSS, Commissioner of Police, Chairman of the Njikoka local government area as well as DPO Abagana to intervene in what he described as willful damage to peoples properties and threat to life by a section of Umudachi Orofia Abagana to their kits and kins. He assured them that he visited and saw danger hence he went and brought the DPO literally to intervene before his people started killing each other.

The Families already had petitioned the relevant authorities to intervene to safe them the agony of losing their loved ones because of land they bought and some inherited many years.

The tensed mood had been brought under control as at the time of this report but the damage was magnitude and alarming.

Meanwhile, the action was an agreement by an alleged section of the community as obtained in a document that brought about the alleged removal of economic trees and demolition at the Umudachi land tagged ‘’report of the Adhoc committee on the comprehensive Audit of All Umudachi land at Amagu Village , Abagana Community was signed by Chairman of the Committee , Chief Dennis Okafor (Ojinkiyeme Abagana) and Dr Godson Okafor , Secretary.

odogwuemekaodogwu reports that the 8 pages document stated that following a meeting of Umudachi indigenes held on 10^th August 2013 at Umunaja town hall Abagana resolved to set up a nine member Adhoc land Audit committee (ALAC) comprising three members each from Umunaja, Umuadiike and Umuanyanom who presented three members each.

                                                  

The meeting empowered the committee to do comprehensive auditing of all Umudachi land at Amagu with a view to identifying, recovering and repossessing all Umudachi land at Amagu. They were mandated to make recommendations on the way forward and mandated the previous leadership of Umudachi Land Management committee to hand over all documents to the new constituted leadership which they refused saying they would do that after election as their tenure is still running.

The meeting resolved also that all activities including building projects , sell of land and every other thing be suspended until the new committee completes its assignment.

The committee said it made some startling revelations as many laying claims to lands have no concrete evidence over the land they occupy among others.

The document said after all investigations concerning Umudachi land ,recommended that  all Umudachi land at Amagu presently occupied by   individuals and groups be repossessed  and its control revert to Umudachi Community immediately except the plots occupied by the four families whose member brought money before the Nigerian Civil war to help prosecute the court case between Umudachi and Ukpomili over ownership of the Amagu land and those plots occupied by families whose member , the standing land committee (SLC) asked to pay a particular amount of money after the Nigeria civil war.

The document stated further, ‘’ that the entire Umudachi land should be cleared and access roads with drainages provided . That the entire Umudachi land be plotted and shared . That the existing embargo on any further development on the Amagu land still stands. That Umudachi give up three plots of land to Umunachi and relocate Umudachi indigenes whose plot will be given up so long as they acquired their plots legitimately. The document said the agreement was for undeveloped plots while the developed plots would be looked into later.