Members of the Divine Heaven Amalgamated Landlords Association, Ifite-Nteje, Oyi local government area of Anambra State, have protested the destruction of their property by suspected youths of the community, who are complaining about the alleged illegal sale of the lands by their elders.
The value of land in the area appreciated so much that soon after the former governor of the state, Chief Willie Obiano sited the airport at Umueri.
As the airport construction was going on, no fewer than 70 associations acquired land at strategic positions along the airport road and most of the buildings were at various stages of completion before their recent destruction. Some buildings, including a hotel close to the Anambra Airport, now renamed Chinua Achebe Airport, worth millions of naira, were said to have been destroyed at the instigation of the executive members of Ifite-Nteje Development Union.
The protesters, comprising men and women, trooped out in their hundreds, displaying placards with varying inscriptions, said that some people want to exploit them after they had met all the requirements concerning the acquisition of their land.
Chairman of the association, Chief Patrick Maduegbuna, who led the protest, appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene in the matter to avoid a total breakdown of law and order in the area.
Maduegbuna said: “The transaction took place in 2019 and the association started developing the place after payment. But all of a sudden, they started demolishing our property there, saying the land deal had been revoked. They demolished houses, hotels, and other buildings nearing completion.
“We called them to know what was the matter and they said we did not buy the land genuinely. They said we should buy the land again or add money. We, therefore, chose to protest, rather than taking laws into our hands. There are more than seven estates there and all we want is to have our property back”.
Also speaking, the association’s secretary, Nwako Maduka said the landlords paid all the required dues and the documents signed by the same people who were trying to revoke the land sold to them genuinely.
The chairman of Ifite-Nteje land management committee, Chief Ikechukwu Erikeife, however, explained that young men who previously sold their plots were making efforts to resell the same land. He said land grabbing to make money at all costs was the cause of the confusion in Ifite-Nteje, and maintained that the land was acquired by the developers through the right source and promised to look into the situation as the protesters could not afford to buy the land for the second time.
Also, the secretary of Ifite-Nteje land management committee, Ngoesina Okechukwu described those behind the allegations as meddlesome interlopers, insisting that the Ifite-Nteje community has a way of appointing its leadership.
Peoplesmind