… Insists The Land Belongs To The Community Not Government
… As OCDA Bulldozes Shops, Stalls Send Occupants Parking .
Umuoyima autonomous community in Owerri Municipal Council has staged a peaceful demonstration to register their displeasure and disapproval to the move by Imo State Government to take over the land situated at Wetheral road.
Speaking to newsmen at the site ,Chairman Elders Council, Elder Godwin Offurum ,said they gathered at the old Ogbosisi following reports that the Owerri Capital Development Authority OCDA on Monday said they would storm the place on Tuesday hence their gathering.
However, Chief Offurum pointed out that the land in question is the ancestral land of Umuoyima autonomous community freely donated to Imo State Government where the government built the Timber and Allied Market aka (Ogbosisi )and when the market was relocated to Naze the Umuoyima community asked that the land should be given back to them.
Continuing, Chairman Elders Council said government obliged them their request by release their land to them vide a letter referenced LOW/7920A/14 dated May 21 2007 signed by the Mrs F. U . Maduike Director of lands on behalf of the Honorable Commissioner of lands.
The letter stated intra alia I ay directed to refer to your incessant demands for the release of former Timber Market situate at Wetheral Road Owerri, within the Umuoyima Community to you and to inform you that His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Imo State has graciously approved the Release of former Timber Market situate at Wetheral Road, Owerri to Umuoyima Community for purposes of realizing their private layout known as and called “Umuoyima South Pocket Layout”. The directive for the release is contained in the EXCO decision IMEXCO/S.21/72 dated 7th May,2007 in paragraph 1.”
Chief Offurum further explained that government have vacated the land and moved the Timber market to Naze and since then the land is not in contest and many governments have come and gone and none of them contemplated taking the land from them and wondered why Gov Hope Uzodimma whom the community had approached before he became the governor to purchase the land and he turned them down as he expressed doubts if these government officials are acting on the governor’s directive.
He said the land belongs to Umuoyima community and not to the government describing moves to take the community’s land as improper more so when the Umuoyima autonomous community has supported the present administration since inception.
Lending his voice the Traditional Prime Minister of Umuoyima autonomous community Chief Obinga Emmanuel Iheanyichukwu Mbanu corroborated the Chairman Elders Council and said the community is not ready to give up their land.
Both the youths and women of Umuoyima autonomous community staged a peaceful demonstration carrying placards with various inscriptions like “Government please live our ancestral land for us”, “This is our ancestral land where our ancestors were buried”.
However, no sooner than the people were waiting the OCDA officials arrived with trucks load of security operatives fully armed shooting sporadically chasing the people away as the pail loaders swung into action demolishing shops, shades and stalls not giving the traders the opportunity to retrieve their goods.
This created a rowdy and confusion as the occupants scampered to save their wares with so many of them sustaining injuries.
A community leader called on the governor to be careful and not allow some fraudulent officials to mislead him and create a bad relationship between him and the Umuoyima autonomous community
