…Community demands compensation, govt says ‘you’ve been paid’
From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
The allocation of a portion of land at Liberation Estate to the Nigeria Army by the Anambra State government has put the people and the government to loggerheads as the community demands payment of compensation from the army.
While a segment of the community, Urualor/Umuejimofor and Urukpaleri villages, who said they are the owners of the land, claimed that the portion the Army was building an estate for their retired officers was not part of the land acquired by the government and no compensation has been paid to them, the state government flaunting documents said that the land was part of Liberation Estate it acquired and paid for in 2007.
The Nwafia people had staged a protest at the site of the housing estate, a land they claimed was about 100 hectares and forcefully taken over by the Army without any compensation; demanding that Army vacate their land immediately and pay them for all the economic trees and crops destroyed in the land.
Speaking to Oriental News on their grievances, the villagers said that the soldiers had even restrained them from entering their farm lands to harvest their crops as they brandish arms and drove them away with threat to shoot them should they (villagers) come near the land.
They, therefore, called on the soldiers to vacate their land immediately and pay them for all the economic trees and crops destroyed in it.
The Chairman of Urualor/Umuejimofor village that claims ownership of the major part of the land, Mr Chukwuma Obumneme, said: “Our land was encroached upon by the Army without any discussion, they cut our economic trees, our cassava and other crops. They stationed their men and refused us entrance into our farmland.
“…The next thing we saw was a military signpost and since then, they have not allowed us to enter our land. They brought bulldozer and cleared the land which is owned by two villages. They have destroyed all the crops in the farms, including cassava, yams, and plantains and cut down all the palm trees and raffia palms. Most of our women who go to the farm daily have been crying as they are no longer allowed to enter into their farms.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of Urukpaleri Village, Chief Anthony Nwinyi, disclosed that they went to visit the GOC, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu, who said he was not aware of the development.
His words: “When I saw what was happening I went to 82 Division, two times I met with the GOC, he said he was not aware. In my presence, the GOC signaled the Onitsha Military Cantonment who also said that he did not know anything about it. The GOC told me that it is not possible for the Army to have two formations in a state and advised me to go to the state government.
“After briefing my people, they asked me to go to the Ministry of Lands, Awka and the officials directed me to the Anambra State Housing Corporation. At Housing Corporation, they called one Sunday Odumegwu, who is from our town and he claimed that compensation for the land had been fully paid when the corporation acquired the site for the proposed Liberation Estate in the Capital Territory.”
But in a swift reaction the Managing Director, Anambra State Housing Development Corporation, Mr Patrick Obianwu said that the land, covering138.686 hectares, was acquired by the state government on July 3, 2001.
Obianwu told Daily Sun that the land was acquired in 2001 for a housing estate as part of the development of Awka Capital Territory with compensation of N80, 124, 353 paid to the people of Nwafia through their appointed attorney.
“The land in question was acquired by the then government of Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju on 3rd July, 2001 and the total area acquired was 138.686 hectares and the survey plan was registered immediately as miscellaneous AX65 and filed as Page 4, Law/5623 at the Land Ministry’s Registry.
“Notice of acquisition was signed and gazetted for that total area and under Governor Peter Obi, 2007, there was a directive to cede 29 hectares out of the entire land to the Army under their Post Housing Services Scheme, which was done by my predecessors.
“However, a further reacquisition was done in 2010 but that reacquisition was done after the Nawfia community nominated an attorney in 2007 to administer over their compensatory sum. And the attorney nominated was Messrs Gilbert Nwana and Partners, the payment was passed through them as per the nomination by the Nwafia community.
“All the interested parties were capture in video clips as the disbursements were supervised by the traditional ruler of Nawfia and other leaders in the community in 2007. The total compensatory sum paid was N80.124,354 million via the then Intercontinental Bank Plc via cheque No. 0690202671 dated December 29, 2006,” he said.
Accepting that it is difficult for people to give up their land, Obianwu said the present administration was eager to develop the state and urged the people to of the area to respect the agreement signed by their elders and leaders.
He said: “Nawfia people should embrace peace, submit to constituted authority that is determined to develop modern infrastructure for the good of the state. Onitsha and Lagos, for instance, which donated their lands for development, have not gone into extinction as a result of development of their areas through land acquisition by the government.”