New Telegraph

Ebonyi: Brothers baying for blood over community land

Indigenes of Amagu, Ishiagu in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and some people regarded as settlers are at daggers’ drawn over a vast land in the area measuring about 158 hectares, UCHENNA INYA reports

Amagu community is blessed with arable land. A piece of such arable land is Ovumte land settlement located in the community. The land measuring 158 hectares is very fertile which makes the people produce palm oil in large quantities. Also, the people produce cassava, yam and rice in large quantities from the land. Some have fish ponds on the farm, sell and make money. The vast land provided refuge for the people during the civil war.

Since time immemorial, only mud/thatch houses are built on the land in accordance with resolution of the community since it is a land settlement. This explained why no good house is erected on the land. But the ownership of the piece of land is being contested by two parties in the community; the natives and ‘settlers’.

While the natives hold that the land is a communal land, the ‘settlers’ claim that the Ovumte land settlement belongs to individuals in the community. The natives and the settlers have continued to disagree over the land, which is threatening the peace in the community. On March 3, the tension in the community heightened when the settlers protested against the parcellation of the land by the land committee.

Some people were reportedly beaten and injured on both sides while the parcellation was halted. But the Chairman of Amagu Development Union, Chief Ukah Livinus Okorie, said if anybody is claiming that he was beating, I don’t know unless that person fought elsewhere.

He said: “They broke our operator’s hand and gave other people internal injuries which we cannot determine by mere looking at them. They beat them up, carried the two batteries of the operator in the dossal, they took his money, they scattered everything and stopped our work that has been going on all this while. When the community heard about it, we came en masse and all of them ran away.

We didn’t beat anybody. “When we went to the police, the police called the local government chairman who, through the Ivo Development Centre coordinator, conveyed a meeting. All of us went to the local government for the meeting. The local government chairman addressed us and we told him our grievances. We told him we are not happy how our tenants beat us and made it clear that we cannot continue to allow them to beat us. The local government chairman appealed to us to remain calm, that violence cannot give us anything.

At the end of the day, we abided by what the local government chairman told us and then dispersed.” Okorie explained that Ovumte land is a communal land and accused the ‘settlers’ of claiming its ownership. The chairman argued that there was an oral agreement by their forefathers in the community that the settlers can stay in the community and that any time the community wants to make use of the land; the community is free to do so. He said: “As far as I know as the chairman of the community, Ovumte land is a general land that belongs to the whole community.

Though some people might come up, trying to claim ownership of the land, right from time immemorial, such people have been here and the community kept them as tenants, they pay rents to the community and the community allows them to stay. Our fathers made oral agreement that they can stay here but any time the community wants to make use of the land, the community is free to do so and we have been doing that. “All of a sudden, these people started laying claim to the land, saying that it belongs to them.

But the community has been making plans to parcelate the whole Ovumte land so that every family in this community will have a share. This arrangement has been ongoing for the past 20 years. When this administration started on 1st January, 2020, was when the community finished every arrangement to start parcellation.

When the parcellation started, some people came in but they have been part and parcel of the community, part of the meeting that the community has been having for more than 20 years. “The community is so surprised to see them come up with some allegations and claims that they own part of the land whereas the community is trying to let them know that despite the fact that the community has kept them here for long, the community is not pursuing them totally, the community will still make provisions for them to stay within that side they have been staying while other areas will be parcellated and given to other members of the community. So, there is no much problem.

If they want to attract public sympathy, they call the name of our illustrious son, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, that he is claiming the land. Anyim is not claiming any land in Ovumte. Whatever that is happening here is just the brainchild of the whole community, not the brainchild of any individual.

“So, they are just calling his name, placing their hands on him so that they will attract sympathy. Anyim is never part of what we are doing; he is not involved in any land matter. He is an indigene of Amagu and anything that Amagu is doing, he is supposed to follow them and do it but he is not involved in this particular thing the community is doing. What we are doing is the brainchild of the community; it is not the brainchild of any individual.

So, anybody calling his name is just trying to attract public sympathy because they know that when they call his name, his detractors will start saying this man has come again to do this and that. Anyim is never involved in this matter. Now, the community is ready to parcellate the land and make it reach every family in the community and that is what we are doing.” Okorie argued that the case instituted against the community by the ‘settlers’ has been quashed based on multiple suits. The chairman accused two men – Moses Orji and Aloysius Obineche – of leading those opposing the community to parcellate the land.

He added: “The land is about 158 hectares. These people we are talking about are very few and Moses Orji is their leader; he was the person that instigated others. Others have not even started all these movements until he came up, laying claim that his forefather disvirgined the areas whereas we have elders that senior him, some are the age mates of his father and they know that this land is a communal land. As a grown up like him, he is just misleading young people in this community which we don’t like. Other people are Aloysius Obineche and some others.

“As of now, the case is out of court because the court quashed the case on 17th of November last year based on multiple suits. As at now, the case is not in the court and since it has been quashed, that means we still own our land and whatever ruling they gave us, it is in our favour. Court quashed it and told them that it was not how to institute a suit, that if they want to institute a suit, they should go the normal way and institute a suit.

The case started last year and we have been going to court. After a month, some people will come and institute a new one, after a month, they will include the names of their children, after another month they will include the names of their grandchildren.

They kept on multiplying the suits until the court quashed and since it has been quashed, it is in favour of the community.” But the Coordinator of Ivo Development Centre and indigene of Amagu, Afudike Uchechukwu Emmanuel, disagreed with Okorie.

Emmanuel argued that the matter is still in court and that it is only the court that will decide who owns the land. According to him, the court simply ordered that the multiple suits instituted by the aggrieved persons in the community over the land be consolidated to enable it to decide on the matter.

He added: “The issue of who owns Ovumte land is already in the court of competent jurisdiction and I believe that the court so far is handling the matter. This is why one of the things we saw in the meeting we called over the crisis is a paper brought by the land parcellation committee; an order from the court.

The local government chairman read the order and it says there are many suits about the Ovumte land from different families and different individuals. “The court simply ordered that the suits be consolidated. We read the thing together and everybody understood the order. The order was not that the judgement has been given in the matter. So, that was the order and the council chairman asked everybody to step down and allow the court to finish the case.

So, it is not my own duty to say who owns Ovumte land and who is not the owner of Ovumte land since the matter is already in the court.” Also, the Chairman of Ovumte Land Parcellation Committee, Chief Chinedu Makwe, argued that the land is for every member of the community and not individuals. He said the decision to parcellate the land was borne out of the desire of the community to continue to live in the community and not scattering in other places in Ishiagu which can threaten their history as one people.

Makwe said villages in the Amagu community are already filled to capacity with no land for the people to build residential houses and that necessitated the decision of the community to set up a community to parcellate Ovumte land to enable it to be shared to every family to build houses and expand the community.

He added: “The idea of parcellating Ovumte land is something that came over 20 years ago. Some chairmen of the committee have come and gone and I became the chairman in 2008 following the death of Chief Cosmos Ajah, who was the chairman.

All we need is to revalidate the decision of those people that came before us and for each of the decisions we take, we take it to the Assembly for ratification. So that each time we are working, it will be the community approval. “This place is a land settlement; if you go round there, you will not see any good buildings standing. The decision of the community is you don’t build any concrete thing here. This settlement is for every member of the community.

We found out that this settlement can become a residential area because we found out that our villages (residential areas) are already filled up and people are in want of where they will build house and the community said instead of allowing this settlement remain like this and going to other villages to buy land, we have a land to give you so that we cannot scatter and our history get loss.

“We said okay, we are going to start work on the land settlement and our town crier went round the whole settlement to announce it. When we started work, we had no problem until when we got to a place where a 75-year-old man, Moses Orji, who should be an elder of this community, his wife who perhaps is not from this community, who perhaps doesn’t know our culture, who perhaps doesn’t even know the history of this land settlement disappointed us and started writing all manner of publications against us in the media. They started writing about Anyim Pius Anyim, who shouldn’t be dragged into this matter.

They dragged Anyim into the land issue just to curry public sympathy.” One of those said to be settlers in the community, Pastor Aloy Chukwu, claimed that their forefathers left Ovumte land for them to inherit and that he doesn’t know when it started. He said: “Well, Ovumte land is a land that our forefathers have lived before we came to inherit. Of course, we don’t know when it started but we were born there. Sometime last year, we saw some people coming to destroy our things; palm trees, our houses, our farms and we asked them what was the problem and they said the community wanted to use the place to develop an ultra-modern city.

“We told them that we have been living in that place for several years but they told me that it is a community land. Before then, we had a rumour that it is a community land. I was not living on that land, I was living in Lagos. They invited me for a meeting over the land. I told them in the meeting that we have a big brother we need to see because he is a member of the community and if anything is happening here, he is the one that will save us. I told them that I will convey a meeting with our big brother, Pius Anyim, which I did. On the meeting day, people were angry and were not satisfied with the way things went during the meeting.

“At the end of the day, I told them to calm down that we will still go to him again and they said no, they can’t go to him again. They said that what they are waiting for is that any day people will come to touch their palm trees, they will see what they will do. I told them that violence cannot solve our problem.

So, at the end of the day, something happened, they started somewhere and we landed in the court. “On Friday, they started bulldozing our farms again. On Tuesday, we organised a peaceful protest in the community. We did our protest and the Ivo Development Centre coordinator called a peace talk which was attended by the council chairman. We didn’t know that they planned to attack us and we held the peace talk. The chairman saw the truth. He ordered the bulldozer to be removed from the land and allow the court to decide since the matter is already in the court. They presented a court paper to the chairman.

The chairman opened the paper and saw where the judge said that we should go and prepare our case and bring it to representative capacity and consolidate it, that the people that filed the case on one matter are two too many – 45 families filed suit one by one. When the matter comes up, they will fill the court.

The judge said we should bring the suit to representative capacity so that the court will decide on the matter. “We finished the meeting peacefully and we didn’t know that they mobilised thugs and kept them at the gate. In fact, it was God who saved me that day.

They injured many people. We demand that the culprits be arrested and prosecuted for their criminal and in human conduct. We as well ask that police protection be extended to us, as we the people of Ovumte village live in fear.” Orji Paul, who claimed to be an indigene of Amagu, narrated what happened at Ivo Local Government Headquarters, Ishiaka, during the meeting. He said: “I was there that day with the local government chairman and the coordinator of the Development Centre. I was at the meeting when the local government chairman was addressing Ovumte village and Amagu people.

The local government chairman listened to both parties. The Amagu people said the case was against Ovumte and that the case was struck out. The chairman was with the judgement during the meeting; he opened it and read it to both parties.

The judgement is that the Ovumte people should go back and compile their case and bring it back to the court. “After that the chairman ordered that the bulldozer should be removed from Ovumte land. He appointed one Ajah to pray peacefully when the meeting ended. The coordinator of Ivo Development Centre and I started going for another meeting. On reaching the gate, we saw some hoodlums who blocked the gate.

They said the gate should be closed and I asked why. I saw one Ogo who the hoodlums asked to sit on the ground and I ordered him to get up. I warned the hoodlums at that gate to stop beating people. They stopped immediately. The coordinator of Ivo Development Centre and I headed for Abakaliki for the meeting.

“Immediately we got to Abakaliki, they started sending some videos; people they brutalised, people they beat even to the extent of some people were lying critically in the hospital. I am from Amagu and I know that people have been living in Ovumte for more than 40 to 50 years because I was born there. Both parties struggling over this land are my people. Let them stop beating people; let them allow the court to decide who owns that land.” The Women Leader in the community, Mrs. Victoria Ajah, called for peace in the area.

She said the crisis over Ovumte land ownership has been affecting women in the community. Ajah argued that the land belongs to the community and not individuals. She wondered why some people in the community would be laying claim to it. She said: “This crisis is affecting us because we are brothers and sisters; brothers and sisters don’t fight. We need peace in this community and we are trying to bring peace to the community. My father-in-law told me that this Ovumte land belongs to the entire Amagu community.

He told me that it was agreed that each time Amagu sons decide to build whatever they want on the land, nobody should struggle with them over the land. “I see no reason why a few people in the community will begin to claim that the Ovumte land is their own. Since I was married into this community, I never heard that Ovumte land belongs to a few individuals in the community. We have tried to resolve this issue and made them understand that this Ovumte land belongs to every member of the community.” The traditional ruler of Amagu community, Chief Godffery Makwo, who is angry over the situation of things regarding the Ovumte land, said elders of the community should not be pushed to curse those preventing parcellation of Ovumte land for the general good of the community. According to him, the community will pronounce a curse on them, if they continue to oppose the parcellation of the settlement.

Makwo frowned at the attitude of the settlers and threatened that elders of the community would be forced to pronounce a curse on anyone opposing the community on the parcellation of Ovumte land. He said: “I am 73 years old and this is my 27th year as the chief of this community which the entire Amagu community gave to me. My father is late and he told me that Ovumte land settlement belongs to Amagu and to the best of my knowledge, right from the time our ancestors agreed that if you want to live here, don’t plant anything and even if you do and your brother wants to erect a house, remove it. The settlers know this.

“The true story is that Ovumte belongs to Amagu. There is a playground in our community known as Ogbuji where decisions are taken and whatever decision we take will be agreed upon. “We only pity these sets of people because there is a custom that we will do and all those people that are fighting this community will have themselves to blame. If we hit our walking sticks on the ground for them, they will suffer. They should not push us to do this. “Recently, something happened at Okposi in Ohaozara Local Government Area. The people of Okposi went to their traditional place and something happened. So, we pray that we will not be forced to do that.”

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  • HomePress Statements
    Ebonyi Land Grabbing Saga: We Don’t Want Public Sympathy, We Want Justice, Ovumnte Community replies Pius Anyim
    PRESS STATEMENTS
    By Kalu Idika On Mar 11, 2021
    Anyim Pius Anyim blasts Prince Arthur Eze
    Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation [SGF], Senator Anyim Pius Anyim
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    We the People of Ovumnte Community in Amagu, Ishiagu within Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have now become aware of publications immensely filled with lies and absolute falsehoods titled: “Alleged Land Grabbing: Ebonyi Community Absolves Anyim” published in the Orientdaily on 7th February, 2021; “President ADU Absolves Former SGF Senator Pius Anyim of Land Grabbing in Ovumnte Community”, published in the Nigerian Voice on 8th February, 2021; “Don’t Attract Curses, Ebonyi Monarch Warns Settlers”, published in the New Telegraph on 8th February, 2021, and; “Amagu Community Absolves Anyim of Land Grabbing Allegation” published in the Blueprint on 9th February, 2021.

    We are deeply constrained to respond to the above publications which only contain deliberately concocted lies and absolute falsehoods intended to hide the abominable acts committed by Chief Pius Anyim and his agents, and further twist facts and mislead members of the public, with a malicious view to making saints of sinners in the eyes of the unsuspecting public.

    To set the records straight, it is important for us to state the following:
    1. There was no time when the Amagu community jointly decided to develop any land into an ultra-modern city for the benefit of Amagu indigenes or youths, and there are currently no jointly owned communal lands anywhere in the community.

    2. The idea of building a purported ultra-modern city at Ovumnte land was proposed and promoted by Chief Pius Anyim, who after taking up residence in Ovumnte in 1999/2000 had severally complained publicly and bitterly that he has lived in Ovumnte for about 20 years without prominent people coming to acquire lands and building modern residential structures close to his residence in Ovumnte land.

    3. In particular, on the Amagu day celebration of 31 December, 2019, Chief Pius Anyim declared that “since he has lived in Ovumnte for about 20 years without prominent people coming to live close to him, he was going to build the second best residential city in Nigeria on Ovumnte land to attract prominent persons to reside in the area”.

    4. Before then, in September, 2019, when we heard that Chief Pius Anyim was planning to develop Ovumnte Land into a purported ultra-modern residential city, we sought an appointment with him and met with him in his residence on 29/10/2019. During the meeting, Chief Pius Anyim stated that he had spent over 7 million Naira to survey and parcel out Ovumnte land for development into an ultra-modern city and that there was no going back, and that he was only waiting for the dry season to come so that his bulldozers can start work on the said land. He told us that compensation would not be paid to any person affected as a result of the said mega city project. We pleaded with Chief Pius Anyim that our lands, farms, economic trees and inheritance cannot be acquired by force and reminded him that he even compensated the families who owned the land upon which he built his residence. Rather than listen to us, Chief Pius Anyim stated that there was no going back that anyone who wanted to acquire a plot of land at Ovumnte should pay N1.2million.

    5. During the Amagu Day celebration on 31/12/2019, Chief Pius Anyim stated again that anybody that owns land in Ovumnte is a “tenant” and that Ovumnte land is a “communal land” and further declared “that God has given him the vision to develop Ovumnte into an ultra-modern mega residential city”.

    6. Later, in January, 2020, a bulldozer directed by Messers Chinedu Nicolas Makwe (a Director with the National Health Insurance Scheme and a brother to Hon. Livinus Makwe, the Member representing Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo in the Federal House of Representatives); Peter Ajah, Livinus Ukah, Godfrey Anyim, Chukwu Benjamin Osi, and others forcefully entered our lands at Ovumnte and embarked on the malicious destruction of our farms, including our planted crops, palm trees, and other economic trees, houses, and committed other unlawful and abominable acts including, uprooting and destroying our planted yam crops (a great abomination in the culture and traditions of Ndi Igbo).

    7. Following the said malicious destructions, we instituted Suit No: HSK/6/2020, Suit No: HSK/19/2020 and Suit No: HSK/26/2020 at the High Court of Ebonyi State in February, 2020, while Sir Moses Orji whose vast palm oil plantation, fish ponds and poultry houses were destroyed earlier instituted Suit No: HSK/4/2020 in January, 2020 at the High Court of Ebonyi State. The High Court of Ebonyi State later consolidated the Suits and ordered that status quo should be maintained by the parties to the suits pending their determination.

    8. Between 13th and 27th of June, 2020, two bulldozers accompanied by armed thugs entered into our lands in violation of the preservative orders of the High Court in Suit No: HSK/6/2020 and began destroying our farms, houses, palm trees, economic trees and planted crops which are our only means of livelihood. Chief Pius Anyim and Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe were severally sighted inspecting the destruction of our properties by the bulldozers. This was after Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe and four thugs had physically assaulted Mrs Orji, a member of the Ovumnte community at her husband’s farm on 12th June, 2020. Also, between 13th and 25th of November, 2020, a bulldozer accompanied by armed thugs moved into our farmlands and began destroying our crops, farms, economic trees and houses in a bid to forcefully evict us. While the above acts of impunity were going on, the High Court ruled that our Suits should be brought in a representative capacity (class action). The Court did not dismiss or strike out the suit, however, Chief Pius Anyim and his agents interpreted the ruling to mean that the Court has given them judgment.

    9. Again, between 27th January, 2021 and 2nd February, 2021, a bulldozer which came from Chief Pius Anyim’s residence in Ovumnte, Amagu, Ishiagu in Ivo LGA entered into our farms at Ovumnte and began destroying crops, farm houses, economic trees and other properties. On 2nd February, 2021, members of our community confronted the bulldozer operator and directed him to leave our lands as the High Court had ordered that Status Quo be maintained. We further reported the matter to Mr. Nwornu Daniel, the DPO in charge of Ivo LGA, who as usual refused to accept our complaint. That same day, the Executive Chairman of LGA invited Ovumnte Land Owners and Chief Pius Anyim’s group to a meeting on 3rd February, 2020, by 7.30 AM, at the Ivo Local Government Council headquarters, Isiaka.

    10. At the said meeting which held at the Council Hall, the Executive Chairman of Ivo LGA, Chief Onyebuchi Ogbadu read the ruling of the Ebonyi State High Court and advised that status quo should be maintained pending the determination of the suit and also advised Mr. Nwornu Daniel, the DPO to ensure that the bulldozer was removed from Ovumnte land and that Ovumnte community members returned home safely.

    11. The DPO to our surprise, however, told the Executive Chairman of LGA and all the parties who were in the Council Hall, that a status quo order meant that all parties to the suit should not enter Ovumnte land again and that the original land owners should vacate if they want peace. At that point, representatives of Chief Pius Anyim’s group who had come to the Ivo Local Government Council headquarters with armed thugs began to make noise and then their thugs unleashed mayhem on us (Ovumnte Land Owners), and destroyed a Toyota Matrix car belonging to Sir Moses Orji and the motorcycles and bicycles of several Ovumnte land owners, while also grievously injuring Lady Christina Orji, Mr. Chimazie Okoro, Mr. Francis Eze, Mr. Okechukwu Eze, Mr. Michel Ajah Eze, Mr. Ossi Chukwu, and particularly beat Mr. Friday Ovia and Mr. Ogo Godwin Okeke to the point of death. All these took place in the presence of the Executive Chairman of Ivo LGA, Chief Onyebuchi Ogbadu whom they thugs also mobbed and seized his phones when he attempted to take pictures of the incident. The DPO left the scene without quelling the crisis or making any arrests.

    12. We are aware that the thugs who carried out the above unlawful acts triumphantly returned to Chief Pius Anyim’s residence at Ovumnte were they were fed and paid by Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe.

    13. We have severally reported the above acts of Chief Pius Anyim and his agents to the Police and other relevant institutions and we have categorically demanded justice and not public sympathy.

    14. We wish to ask the stooge, Mr. Uka Livinus Okorie, who Chief Pius Anyim singlehandedly handpicked to be the Chairman of the Amagu Development Union whether the Federal Government of Nigeria was looking for “public sympathy” in 2017 when the House of Representatives indicted Chief Pius Anyim over acts of land grabbing, abuse of office, and financial impropriety in the Abuja Centenary City Project and recommended his prosecution by law enforcement authorities?

    15. Again, we wish to ask Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe, Mr. Uka Livinus Okorie, and other agents of Chief Pius Anyim whether members of the Ovumnte community were looking for “public sympathy” when despite being mostly poor peasant farmers instituted suits in the High Court against Chief Pius Anyim and others over the destruction of our properties and seizure of our farmlands?

    16. We further wish to ask Chief Pius Anyim, Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe, Mr. Uka Livinus Okorie, and other agents of Chief Pius Anyim why they are not interested in the Ovumnte land case being heard on the merits so that the issue of the ownership of Ovumnte land can be resolved conclusively by the Court?

    17. We categorically state that there is nobody like Mr. Godfrey Makwo in Amagu community and that the said fictitious character is not the traditional ruler or monarch of the Amagu Community. The fictitious person named Mr. Godfrey Makwo exists only in the imagination of Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe and other of agents of Chief Pius Anyim who are using the non-existent character to share extremely false narratives in order to grab our ancestral lands.

    18. It is extremely unfortunate that the fictitious and non-existent Mr. Godfrey Makwo whom the land grabbers falsely claim to be a traditional ruler does not understand that it is an abomination for a person to maliciously destroy planted yams and crops in Ishiagu land and in the entire Igboland. Our people say that “an elder does not sit at home and watch a tethered goat deliver”. Ome tere buru! (He who commits an abomination should carry the weight of its repercussions on his head). Surely, the abominable acts which the fictitious Mr. Godfrey Makwo has condoned shall return to him and those who have committed them.

    19. We are indeed surprised that Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe and other agents of Chief Pius Anyim would go to the extent of creating a fictitious character and further falsely claim that such non-existent character is the traditional ruler of Amagu community. This confirms their high level of desperation and sordid desecration of traditional institutions and customs.

    20. We are further surprised that Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe and other agents of Chief Pius Anyim would go to the extent of using the fictitious and non-existent Mr. Godfrey Makwo to threaten to place curses on the people of Ovumnte who are genuinely and peacefully seeking to protect their rights and properties.

    21. We therefore challenge Chief Pius Anyim to go before the Akanu-Amagu playground and deny before the Amagu community that he did not instigate and direct the destruction of our farms and properties in the guise of developing a purported ultra-modern mega residential city which he proposed.

    22. We challenge Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe, Mr. Uka Livinus Okorie, and other agents of Chief Pius Anyim, (including the fictitious Mr. Godfrey Makwo) to go before the Akanu-Amagu playground and deny before the Amagu community that they are not acting selfishly and upon the direction of Chief Pius Anyim.

    23. We further challenge Chief Pius Anyim and Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe to go before the Akanu-Amagu playground and deny before the Amagu community that they did not orchestrate the violent assault of members of Ovumnte community and the malicious destruction of their properties at Isiaka, on 3rd February, 2020.

    24. We state that the Ovumnte land grab case is not the first time that large expense of lands has been obtained from members of Amagu community under a false guise and by force. Around 2003/2004, Chief Pius Anyim obtained over 200 hectares from several families in the community on the guise that he wanted to build a malting factory and provide employment. In most cases, he forcefully fenced the lands of several families that refused to give up their lands for the paltry sum he offered. Up till today, Chief Pius Anyim has not built any malting factory; rather, he fenced the lands with cast concrete constructed by Julius Berger and on which he severally inscribed “In Jesus Name Amen”. The said land is located on several kilometers along the Afikpo–Okigwe Express Way and it is being used by Chief Anyim Pius Anyim as a private game reserve.

    25. We wish to advice Chief Pius Anyim, Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe, Mr. Uka Livinus Okorie, and others (including the fictitious Mr. Godfrey Makwo) that the Ovumnte land grab case can NEVER be resolved by might or by peddling false narratives on the pages of newspapers, but rather by a Court of Law. Therefore, we urge them to be civilized, consistent and diligent in defending the suit filed against them and desist from further acts of impunity, name calling and threatening Ovumnte land owners with harm and misguided curses from fictitious and non-existent characters that dwell in their wild imaginations.

    26. We the Members of Ovumnte Community remain law abiding Nigerian citizens, who are entitled to constitutionally guaranteed rights, including the right to life and property, and have been compelled by the uncivilized and malicious acts of Chief Pius Anyim, Mr. Chinedu Nicolas Makwe and others to seek redress before a competent court of law. We therefore appeal to them once again to act in line with civilized norms pending the determination of our suit. We also call on the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police and other law enforcement authorities to bring to book the culprits who assaulted members of our community and destroyed our properties in order to deter further acts of impunity.

    Signed:

    (1) Mr. Eze Francis Chukwu……………………………………………………

    (2) Pastor Aloy O. Chukwu……………………………………………………..

    (3) Mr. Ogo Godwin Okeke………………………………………………………

    (4) Mr. Chimezie Okoro………………………………………………………….

    (5) Mr. Friday Ovia…………………………………………………………………

    (6) Mr. Ogbonnaya Uche……………………………………………………………

    (7) Mr. Elema Ogbonna ……………………………………………………………

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