…security operatives accosted the protesters at the market square, stopping them from marching round the community
Scores of youths from Nimo community in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State on Tuesday protested alleged land grabbing in the community.
The protesters, who carried placards with varying inscriptions, accused certain influencial individuals in the community of being behind sale of a large parcel of land in the area known as Ana Ama.
Some of the placards read, “Ana Owa is not for sale”, “stop selling off our inheritance”, “you are supposed to be protecting us, not selling our property,” among others.
The protest was however halted by hundreds of combined security operatives, who stormed the area shortly after the protest commenced.
The operatives who accosted the protesters at the market square, stopped them from marching round the community, insisting they did not obtain clearance before embarking on the protest.
But addressing newsmen, Barr Chux Okonkwo, a legal practitioner and former chairman of Nimo Town Development Union, Lagos branch, insisted they duly received clearance.
He said, “A vast expanse of land, known as Ana Owa, which was gotten by conquest during a war, many decades ago is being sold off today by some people in this community.
“They said they have realised N900million from sales of the land, even though no one authorized them to sell it, and they now claim they have spent N1.2billion, which means we owe them about N300,000. They can not even account for what they did with the funds.
“That is why we want to protest, but you see the platoon of security men they brought to stop us. It is the same people that are selling off the land that are trying everything possible to stop us.”
Also speaking, leader of the protesting youths, Chigbo Aniedobe accused those responsible for the land sale of changing the name of the land from Ana Owa to Obodo Oma Estate, and have put a price tag of N3.1million to a plot.
“We are not ready to fight anyone, we are not going to make trouble, but this protest is for government to hear our cry and come to our aid. At least, posterity will vindicate us that we spoke up when this was happening,” he said.
