Isuaniocha Villagers Protest Alleged Land Grabbing, Seek Soludo’s Intervention

By Ukpa Ewa

Residents of Umuneri Village in Isuaniocha, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State have staged a peaceful protest, appealing to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene in what they described as the forceful takeover of their ancestral land by Anambra State Housing Development Corporation (ASHDC).

The protesters, comprising youths, women and elders gathered at the Government House area in Awka on Wednesday, March 11, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Soludo Stop the Seizure of Our Ancestral Land,” “We Can’t Eat Concrete, Save Our Farmland,” and “ASHDC Stop Land Grabbing.”

Speaking during the protest, a spokesperson and stakeholder of the community, Engr. Francis Udeh, said the dispute between Umuneri Village and ASHDC had lasted for over 20 years.

According to him, the community had earlier agreed to allocate 54.7 hectares of land to the Corporation in the interest of peace but alleged that the agency had gone beyond the agreed boundary despite an existing consent judgement.

He further claimed that buildings belonging to villagers had been demolished and that residents were now unable to farm or move freely on the land.

“We have a court judgement asking ASHDC to stick to the consent judgement but they violated it and continued demolition on our land,” Udeh said.

Receiving the protesters on behalf of the governor, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, commended the community for maintaining peace and assured them that their concerns would be conveyed to the governor.

He described the issue as serious and promised that the state government would invite all parties involved to seek a lasting resolution to the dispute.

The protesters later proceeded to St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Awka, to seek the intervention of the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor.

However, the Bishop was said to be on an official visit to Rome. The Chancellor of the Diocese, Rev. Fr. Dr. Charles Ndubuisi, who received the delegation, assured them that their appeal would be delivered to the Bishop.

Speaking with journalists, the Chairman of the village, Chief Geoffrey Udeh, said several attempts to resolve the matter through petitions and legislative intervention had not yielded results.

He expressed hope that Governor Soludo would step in to address the dispute and restore peace to the community.

Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Anambra State Housing Development Corporation were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.