Emeka Ugwuoke, a retired colonel, has accused authorities of the Nigerian Army in Enugu State of invading his residence and forcefully ejecting his wife and children from his apartment in the state.
Mr Ugwuoke, a former coordinator of Joint Intelligence Fusion Cell of Operation Hadarim Daji in Zamfara State, disclosed this while speaking with reporters in Enugu on Wednesday.
He said over 40 armed soldiers from 82 Division of the Nigerian Army had stormed his residence at about 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday and allegedly man-handled his wife and children before forcefully ejecting them from the apartment.
The retired colonel, who was residing at a military quarter within the premises of the division in Enugu, had travelled to Nsukka, his home town, when the soldiers arrived in the area.
The armed soldiers were said to be acting on directives of General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Aminu Chinade.
The retired colonel told reporters that although military authorities were claiming ownership of the apartment, he had bought the apartment from the Enugu State Government some years ago.
The apartment is along Abakaliki Road, within an estate at the Government Residential Area.
Mr Ugwuoke said he had presented documents showing evidence of the acquisition but the GOC allegedly refused to listen to him.
“Sometimes in 2008, the Enugu State Government wanted to take over the state property that Nigerian Army personnel were occupying and I am living in one of them. I wanted to benefit from it and the division said I should meet my state so that if they give me, that’s okay.
“I wrote several applications to the state government and in 2013, the then governor, Sullivan Chime, approved my application. I couldn’t further the process because I was away until 2015 and that was in a critical period when attention was on politics only.
“When the new governor came, he said I should hold on, that there are a series of committees to verify those things, which eventually ended and I was given papers of the apartment,” Mr Ugwuoke narrated.
The retired colonel said a certain GOC had, in 2020, attempted to challenge his ownership of the apartment, arguing that the property belonged to the Nigerian government, but stopped after the matter was “addressed.”
“Nothing was heard again until November last year when (another) GOC sent 20 soldiers to my house to come and remove my things but after some intervention from senior colleagues they left.
“In March 15, 2023, they wrote to me and asked me to pack out within two weeks, despite my presentation of papers and approvals from the state government,” he said.
“As I travelled to the village for burial yesterday, 11th of April, by 1:15 a.m. this morning, 12th of April, my daughter called me. My wife was not around. She was in the hospital and my daughter said that about 40 soldiers invaded our house and tried to forcefully open the door before my house help opened the door. They were harassing and beating my children telling them to pack their things.
“I came down to Enugu from Nsukka this morning to the greatest surprise of my life, soldiers invaded my house and destroyed my properties. You can see the air conditioner, television, everything destroyed and they came and kept it here on the street, two kilometres away from my house.
“My wife drove from the hospital around 2:00 a.m. and two female soldiers beat her up on her arrival, dragging her to go out of the compound,” he lamented.
Asked if he had reached the state government over the ownership claims by the army authorities, Mr Ugwuoke said the state government was surprised at the army claims when he reported the matter to them.
“I have papers to show’
“I have a paper to show where the Nigeria Army acknowledged that the property belonged to the state government, written by the army itself and signed by one major general on behalf of the chief of army staff,” he said.
The spokesperson of the division, Jonah Unuakhalu, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comments from him about the alleged invasion and ejection.
But an army official at the division, who asked not to be named, claimed Mr Ugwuoke was occupying the quarter illegally.
He said the retired colonel was ejected last year from the apartment, but he refused to leave, stressing that the army would not accept anybody attempting to acquire its property illegally.
“Why can’t the retired colonel respect himself and quit the property rather than seeking unnecessary sympathy, ” he stated.
