By Praise Chinecherem
Umueze Ogwugwu community in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State have commended the Police for arresting one of the land gabbers, Sunday Chukwuemeka in the community.
They also praised Governor Chukwuma Soludo for putting up a public paid announcement to stop activities of land grabbers and speculators claiming to be agents of government within the Oba International market.
The land grabbers had invaded the community where they allegedly demolished over 70 buildings and destroyed farmlands worth millions of naira.
Addressing newsmen on Monday, Chairman of Umueze Ogwugwu, Barr. Chuba Oranusi appealed to Police Zone 13 to arrest other accomplices currently at large and prosecute them for malicious damages, wonton destruction, molestation and harassment to serve as deterrent to others in the area.
He said, “You will recall that on November 12, 2022, a certain group of persons led by Sunday Chukwuemeka popularly known as Sunny Big man and one Mike Egbule known as MICPAN with thugs and some security personnel raided our place and started demolishing our homes, fences, scrapping our farmlands with two bulldozers.
“We showed evidence of the invaders brutalizing our people and trying to waste our ancestral lands that is why we approached Zone 13 Police to give our evidence and support our petition.
“The destruction continued until this December. It was on December 14, 2022, that the long arm of the law caught up with Sunday Chukwuemeka (Sunny Big man who is cooling off his heels at Zone 13 Police.
“We thank the Nigerian Police for showing that indeed this country is governed by rule and order. We are grateful to AIG zone 13 and his men for arresting Sunny Bigman. He will tell the police where he got the authority to come to our land.
“We also thank the state government for promptly putting up an announcement when they heard our cry that they did not send anybody to come to demolish our homes.
“We are grateful to Governor Soludo for his role in stopping the land grabbers from further destruction and selling of their homelands.
“State Government said that they did not send anybody to be collecting money for her which Sunny was allegedly doing, selling our lands. It was based on that that the police was able to arrest him because the government did not send him.
“What we are appealing is that police should ensure that he be arraigned in the court for malicious damage, obtaining under false pretence, for extortion of our people in order to sell their property.
“We also urge police to arrest the remaining people involved like Mike, Israel and their thugs and bring them to book, so that they will know that law and order rules in Nigeria.”
It will be recalled that during the demolition, spokesperson of the land grabbers and property developers, Mr Mike Egbule, known as Micpan claimed the demolished areas belonged to government which authorized them to recover the land.
