As in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and other commercially viable cities across the country, land grabbing has become a major business as speculators and agents continue to fleece members of the public who desire to own property of their own
By Chinedu Oguh, Port Harcourt
That land grabbers are having field day in Rivers State is to state the obvious. The rampaging land grabbers who thrive on killings, kidnapping and violent crimes have sent many families and communities into packing with Obio/Akpor and Etche Local Government Areas worst hit.
The Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr. Gift Worlu who is highly disturbed with the land grabbing menace in the state described it as a hydra-headed problem capable of plunging the state into chaos if not urgently addressed.
According to him, the menace is linked to violent crimes, including murder, cultism and kidnapping with syndicate involving compromised government officials, security agents, lawyers, real estate developers and even traditional rulers working together to dispossess innocent citizens of their lands.
According to reports, Obio/Akpor, Etche, Ikwerre, Omuma, Eleme and Oyigbo Local Government Areas are under siege by the deadly land grabbers who are merciless in their brutal operations.
Tentacle investigations revealed that communities such as Rumuekini, Akpajo, Ogbogoro, Eneka, Igbo Etche, Rumuodumaya, Igwuruta, Rukpakulusi, many families, cooperatives and individuals have either swindled or violently displaced from their lands and property despite having proper documentations.
Obio/Akpor Chairman who collaborated cited instances where lecturers and professionals lost lifetime investments due to fraudulent court orders and brute force. The council boss emphasized that the situation has left many victims devastated and some lost their lives.
Landlords who have been chased away in Iroko, Cenamon and Lemon drives in Ceedarwood Estate on SARS Road in Obio/Akpor LGA have accused the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Special Area, Rumuodumaya otherwise known as Rumuokoro Police Division of fraternizing with alleged land grabbers led by one Stephen Nyegwa to take over their property which they have built for many years.
One of the Landlords whose property was marked for demolition at Cenemon Drive, Mr. Chinedu Igweze told journalists that Nyegwa whom he described as a notorious land grabber and police detachment have marked over 100 buildings for demolition under the guise of having a court judgment whereas there is no court judgment anywhere.
Also, a legal practitioner and landlord in the Estate, Gbenga Oladapo Esq. blasts the DPO, for romancing with the alleged land grabbers and permits his officers to act as Police Bailiff, facilitating inscriptions of fraudulent demolition orders on peoples’ property without a valid court judgment. He called the police authorities to call the DPO to order and warn him of fueling land disputes.
The leader of Yoruba Community in Eneka in tears narrated to Tentacle how one of his members, Alhaji Akeem Tajudeen, popularly called “Tom-Tom” was killed after the family paid N10 million ransom to his kidnappers and his 20 plots of land at Rumuesara Pipeline in Eneka were lost to land grabbers, who forcibly took possession of the property.
According to the Yoruba Leader, apart from Tom-Tom many other Yoruba people have lost their property to the rampaging land grabbers. He called for justice for the slain Tom-Tom and other Yoruba people who have lost their property to the criminals who branded themselves as Land Grabbers.
A concerned indigene, Mr. Emeka Mba argued that if the Chairman of Obio/Akpor is serious about curbing the menace of land grabbing in his domain, he must first start by calling out the two biggest land grabbers who institutionalized the criminal activity in his domain and are still actively involved in it.
According to Mba, land grabbing in Obio/Akpor is an organized crime spearheaded by very powerful people who operate like mob bosses. He went further and advised the Chairman to stop playing to the gallery in the fight against land grabbing and start calling out the major land grabbers in his domain. One of the major land grabbers he said is a legal luminary who has his image looming large over Harmony Estate and others. The other major land grabber he said claims he is a political leader and he has his image looming large over Oginigba and other areas.
Meanwhile, fresh arrests have been made following the killing of scores of people and the injury of several others in Umuakonu Community, Igbo-Etche. The Chairman of Etche Local Government Area, Chief Chima Njoku said the suspects were arrested over the weekend.
The Council Boss in a statement said the suspects were arrested in a joint operation carried out by the Nigeria Police Force with the support of the Etche Local Government Anti-Land Grabbing Committee led by High Chief Emma Nwaobilor. The statement said among those arrested is the paramount ruler of Chokota Community in Igbo-Etche, HRH Eze (Barr) Elijah Okere, alongside his alleged accomplices.
Tentacle gathered that the suspects are accused of involvement in the killings and participating in every land-grabbing activities in Chokota Community, which have fueled tension and conflict in the area.
The Council Chairman condemned the killings and the illegal takeover of land, describing them as threats to peace and development in Etche Land. He warned that no one, regardless of social standing or traditional title, will be spared if found guilty of acts capable of disrupting peace in the area. Njoku commended the Anti-Land Grabbing Committee for its swift action and called on the police to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation to ensure justice for the victims.
He also appealed to community leaders, youths and residents to promote peace and support government efforts to end land related violence and insecurity across Etche Local Government Area.
A legal practitioner in the state, Barrister Jerome Ibe in his own reaction called for a statewide task force against land grabbing, warning that if unchecked, the criminal activity could spread like terrorism and kidnapping.
He explained lasting peace can only be achieved when justice is served and perpetrators are jailed then it will serve as a deterrent to other criminal minded individuals or groups that are involved in heinous crime against God and humanity.
The former Chairman Rumuesara Community Development Council, Joel Akah said, “The Menace of Land Grabbing is no longer local issue, it has become a state wide threat, we need collaboration of all well-meaning Rivers people to nip it in the bud before it escalates into outright pandemonium.”
Again, the Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA, Hon. Gift Worlu further stressed that the government must urgently modernize land registries, update mapping systems and enforce regulations to restore public confidence, noting that investors – both local and those in diaspora are fast losing faith in acquiring land in any part of the state.
