Leave Our Ancestral lands Alone,  Amaeke, Umuokoro People Tell Federal Controller

By Ifeanyi Nwanguma

The people of Amaeke and Umuokoro Clan Iho Dimeze in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State have raised alarm over the ongoing forceful acquisition of their ancestral land by one Engr Denis Dania, Federal Controller, Ministry of Works and Housing, Owerri Imo State.

Elder Nwachukwu Igboechonwu

They argued that no single compensation was paid to the land owners as agreed on their previous lands acquired by Government, pointing out that the purposes of which their lands were acquired by Federal Government in 1980 was grossly abused.

The oldest man in Amaeke Village whose ancestral home was marked ‘remove’ by Engr Denis Dania led Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Elder Igboechonwu Nwachukwu while speaking to Journalists, pointed out that the land Federal Ministry of Housing acquired from their fathers in 1980 did not include their ancestral home and farmland and wondered why Federal Government would asked them  to park out of their ancestral homes for construction of low cost Housing unit.

Elder Nwachukwu, aged 85 years, said it is very unfortunate that his family house that has existed for over one hundred years was marked removed by Federal Ministry of Housing inorder to acquire land for sale.

He maintained that the portion of land Government wants to forcefully acquired from them is not originally part of the area acquired by Shagari’s Government in 1980 from their fathers.

According to him, ” Government does not acquire land where people are living already, Government usually acquire where people are not living, mostly thick forest. The little portion of land Government want to forcefully take away from us is the only area reserved for our children for expansion.”

” The Federal Government should leave our land for us. We were not paid any compensation for the previous land they acquired from us . They promised to train our children in the University but nobody was trained by Federal Government till today.”

” We are now living in fear as a result of the threats from the Controller and his security men. This additional land they want to forcefully acquire from us is not in the over riding public interest as stated by the land use act, rather they just want to take our lands and sale the same way they sold the first acquisition.”

” Government Land Acquisition is usually in the thick forest and not where people are  living already.  How will I park out of my ancestral home in my village and where do Government want me to go at this age?  I appeal to Federal Controller to leave our ancestral homes and farmlands, they can go and acquire lands in other neighbouring Communities around. Amaeke and Umuokoro Clan have sacrificed so much of their lands to Government as landlords of Ikeduru local government headquarters and should not be seen as fools.”

The Chief Priest and Village Head of Umuokoro, Chief Ben Ude while addressing journalists, accused some dubious people in Iho-Dimeze of misleading Engr Denis Dania into Forceful acquisition of their land for selfish interest.

Chief Ude pointed out that the land acquired by Government from their fathers have been used up and the remaining portions were sold to individuals by the same Government agents, stressing that, ” They came with Army, Police and Thugs to intimidate us to part with our only remaining lands. Imo State Government led by His Excellency Sen. Hope Uzodimma should please tell Engr. Denis Dania to leave our land for us, we don’t have any other land left.  Engr Denis Dania and his agents have prevented us from entering our farmland, our women are molested in the farmland by their agents on daily basis.”

” Our worry now is that our Amaorji  Deity Forest has been destroyed by agents of Engr. Denis Dania and the level of it’s consequence will be hash on everyone both indigenes and non Indigenes.”

” Engr. Dania approached  us in April 2022, stating that the want to take over the remaining portion of federal government land acquired in 1980 in our place. We told him that the land was not properly acquired, both first and second phases of the land acquisition which they sold to individuals.”

“we demanded to see the terms of acquisition but till date, he have not made it available to us”.