Members of the Umunagu community in Achalla, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, have staged a peaceful protest to Governor Charles Soludo over an ongoing land dispute.
Hundreds of the community members gathered at the government house in Agu Awka on Tuesday afternoon, holding placards with various inscriptions such as “Your Excellency, please intervene,” “Your Excellency, solution is here,” and “Emeka Morgan Ogijiofor is a well-known land grabber.”
The community urged the governor to intervene and call John Omerie, who allegedly claimed to have sold Achalla land to one Emeka Morgan, to order.
According to the protesters, if the governor does not urgently intervene in the land encroachment, it could lead to a breach of peace and order.
In a protest letter to the governor titled “Conduct Likely to Cause Breach of Peace by Elements from Amanuke Town/Emeka Morgan from Awka,” the community called on Soludo to immediately intervene to avert a looming communal clash between Achalla and Amanuke.
The letter, signed by Ogbuefi Mkpuora Nnazoba, the eldest person in Umunagu village, was also copied to the Traditional Ruler of Amanuke, HRH Igwe Alphonsus Ezebuilo, the President-General of the community, Hon. Samuel Okoye, Anambra State Police Commissioner, AIG Zone 13 Ukpo, and other relevant authorities.
In the letter, the community stated that they had already reported the trespassing to the police and that despite invitations to Morgan to appear before the police, he had instead filed a fundamental human rights action at the Federal High Court in Awka.
The spokesperson for the community, Chief Onyekwere Nkwoejike, said their goal was to draw the government’s attention to the potential danger if no urgent action is taken.
“We are peace-loving people, and we are here to plead with the governor to intervene and stop Emeka Morgan from Awka, who claims to have bought our land from an Amanuke man, Mr. John Omerie, from trespassing on our land. The Nobi land is our farmland, which we use to feed Ndi Anambra. We are farmers. In 1926, the colonialists demarcated the land after winning several cases against the Amanuke people, but Omerie went ahead and removed the pillars placed by the colonial government.
We just want the governor to intervene to avert a communal clash,” he said.
The Financial Secretary of the community, Akachukwu Nweke, pleaded with the governor to prevail on the youths from Awka to stop threatening them, as this could escalate into violence.
“Morgan is using the Awka youths to threaten us by writing threatening letters and destroying bridges leading to our farms, where our women work. We don’t have any issue with the Awka people, and their youth should stay out of this crisis,” he stated.
Mrs. Agnes Ndu, a member of the community, explained that the land in question belonged to their husbands, who have been farming there for many years.
“We have been farming in the Nobi land and suddenly, a man named Morgan came and started chasing people away, claiming ownership. We even planted crops on the land this year, but every time we go there, some young men chase us away from our farmland. We want the governor to save us from these people. We planted rice, cassava, and yam, and they are not allowing us to harvest them,” she said.
Addressing the protesters, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Tony Collins Nwabunwanne thanked the people for not taking laws into their hands and considering reporting the matter to Government for peaceful resolution.
According to him, the Governor Chukwuma Soludo led administration will not tolerate any form of land grabbing and will do everything possible to ensure that no illegality stands against any community or people in the state.
Nwabunwanne said the government will immediately summon the Traditional Rulers and Presidents General of Achalla and Amanuke to a meeting aimed at resolving the issues raised and ensuring that it does not escalate to crises .
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