By Praise Chinecherem
No fewer than six land owners have allegedly been arrested weekend, at their Nkpa land, Igbu Awkuzu community, Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra state while guarding their land as land grabbers were said to have severally stormed the land with intention to illegally hijack their property.
One of the land owners, Charles Okechukwu, (a.k a. Ina Way) who disclosed to newsmen said the suspected land grabbers who came from Ifitedunu, a neighbouring community with some of Awkuzu indigenes, connived to illegally grab their land.
“We call them criminal land grabbers. Just yesterday because we were not around, they armed themselves with guns, machetes , clubs, charms, among others, stormed the land and partitioned it and installed beacons on the land.
“Earlier, they came with caterpillars and leveled the hilly land before installing the beacons.
So this afternoon four policemen from zone 13, first came to our land and told us that they merely came to know how were are doing.
“But minutes later, police team from Awkuzu stormed the area, beat up our people and arrested about six of our people who are the land owners.
“No amount of intimidation and blackmail will make us to surrender our land to them. We are the genuine owners of this land from Okwesi family and it was inherited from our forefathers,” he further explained.
Contributing, another member of the owners of the land, Chief Mbanefo Onwuebuka, expressed surprise that land grabbers still exist and called on the police to ensure they face the law of the land.
“They stormed as we begin to develop the land , they should remove their hands from our land. They are criminals who try to forcefully take away people’s land but they will not succeed, we will not allow them,” he stated.
Also speaking, Okechukwu Udeagwu, another land owner, lamented that police would come to their land and arrest the land owners instead of the land grabbers who have been terrorizing them.
In a swift reaction when contacted, the Awkuzu Police Commander, Mr Ifeanyi Ibru, denied that his men assaulted the land owners adding that they stormed the scene of the incident based on the petition a group of people sent to the state Police Commissioner, Mr Nneghe Ita
Contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga said he was unawa of the incident.
