Enugu Community accuses Govt. Agency of Land Grab

The Obinagu Obeagu Awkunanaw community in Enugu South local government area has accused the Managing Director of Enugu State Geographic Information System, ENGIS, Mr. Chiwetelu Nwatu, of forceful take over of 9,000 plots of land belonging to the community.

But Nwatu refuted the allegation, stating that the parcels of land are in dispute among three communities of Enugu South and Nkanu west local government areas.

Senior Special Assistant to the state Governor on Mainstream Media, Mr. Dan Nwomeh, also said that it was the previous administration of the state that gave the land to the Nigeria Police for development of a Police Secondary School.

President of the Obinagu Development Union, Mr. Kingson Ndubueze, who lead the community members in a protest at the site, on Tuesday, insisted that it was the MD of ENGIS, Nwatu, who deceitfully took over the land after asking for regularization of titles of the land with the agency.

The protesters marched from the disputed Lakeside Layout, Phases 1 and 2, to the Government House, wielding placards with inscriptions such as “Save Our Ancestral Land,” “Stop Land Grabbing Now,” and “Justice for Obinagu Community.” 

Ndubueze said the community complied with all statutory requirements, including submission of relevant documents to the agency for verification, but alleged that ENGIS failed to carry out the exercise.

“We are law-abiding citizens who followed every legal process to secure this land. All documents were duly processed and submitted for verification,” he said.

He expressed dismay that, without any feedback, the land was allegedly reallocated to the Nigeria Police Force, which he claimed had already commenced development on the property.

“To our greatest surprise, without any verification, we discovered that our land has been allocated to the police, who are already developing it,” he alleged.

The community leader further argued that the presence of security personnel on the land was being used to legitimise what he termed an unlawful acquisition. 

He also questioned the transparency of the process, alleging that the land had been advertised for N25 million per plot.

“It appears the police are being used as a shield to perfect this injustice. This is our ancestral land, and we will not fold our arms and watch it taken without due process,” he added.

Ndubueze appealed to Governor Peter Mbah to intervene promptly to avert a potential escalation.

“We urge the governor to act swiftly. If not addressed, this issue could spiral. What we seek is justice, not conflict,” he stated.