By Praise Chinecherem
Crisis that would have led to bloodbath was at the weekend averted at Ezinano Community in Awka South local government area of Anambra state over dispute land matter in the area.
Hundreds of leaders, women and youths of the community reportedly escaped what would have have been described as a genocide in the state.
The ugly incident occured on Friday on the disputed land between people of Ezinano community in Awka and Umuzuocha Community both in the same council area.
Heavily armed men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the state police command were said to have laid siege on the area possibly to avert any form of breakdown of law and order.
Our correspondent gathered that if not for quick intervention of the Commissioner of Police, Obono Nnaghe Itam who ordered all parties involved to leave the scene immediately, the story would have been different.
Trouble started when the Ezinano indigenes stormed their ancestral land which the Umuzuocha Community was laying claim to following information that members of Umuzuocha Community had commenced indiscriminate citing of buildings on the disputed land.
The Umuzuocha people were said to have started raising perimeter fences, erosion channels/gutter and other structures on the land without recourse to pending case in court but only to deploy police to the area in order to perfect their plans.
It was learnt that Ezinano people on arrival were ordered by the SARS Operatives to leave the land or be sent to their early graves, a development that prompted them to raise the alarm, calling on CP Obono Nnaghe Itam to come to their rescue and wade into the matter.
The Ezinano indigenes, during the stalemate, protested against police invasion on their land.
One of them, Mrs Gloria Chiama, a farmer appealed to relevant authorities to call police to order, wondering why the Police would take sides on matters of land dispute involving communities and individuals rather than maintaining law and order.
Reacting, Police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga urged leaders and people of Ezinano community to come forward with their complaints to the police in the state.
“You know the truth, you and I have been in this Anambra for many years. If the Ezinano people have any issue, they have the numbers of the Commissioner of Police and they have my own number; they can come to the command and lay their complaints,” he said.
Recall that elders and leaders of the Ezinano Community had earlier written a petition dated September 11th 2024 to the chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC) which was copied to the Presidency, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Complaint Response Unit pf the Police Force Headquarters Abuja and Commissioner of Police, Anambra State against a senior police officer over alleged meddlesomeness in the same land.
