Imo Family Accuses Uzodimma’s Aide of Seizing Ancestral Land, Alleges Demolition of Homes

The Nkwazema family of Nekede, Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, has accused officials of the state government of attempting to take over its ancestral land, vowing to pursue every legal means to protect the property.

The family alleged that government officials led by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Monitoring and Compliance, Nze Chinasa Nwaneri, invaded the property with armed security operatives and forcefully evicted its occupants.

Speaking on behalf of the affected family, Felix Uchenna Ihemeze Nkwazema alleged that Nwaneri directed some youths, whom he described as thugs, to invade the land and destroy houses and other properties belonging to the family.

He said the family was surprised when fencing work reportedly began shortly after the destruction of the buildings.

Nkwazema further alleged that Nwaneri’s team mapped out the graves of the family’s parents before commencing the fencing of the property, which he said covers more than 10 plots and contains residential buildings.

He maintained that neither Nwaneri nor any other government official approached the family to discuss the proposed acquisition of the land. He also alleged that no compensation had been paid.

According to him, the family had owned the property for generations and had never been informed of any government plan to acquire it.

“Even if the government indicated interest in the land, there is a procedure for that which was not followed.

“The government should also make its purpose of acquiring the land known to us. But surprisingly, none of these steps was applied before the invasion,” he said.

Nkwazema claimed that the Owerri City survey-plan documents showed that the family had been in possession of the land since 1943.

He questioned why the government would allegedly displace residents from their ancestral property without first notifying the family or following the procedures for compulsory acquisition.

The family representative also alleged that one of their members was arrested during the incident and that sporadic gunshots forced residents to flee for safety.

He said the family was determined to protect its property through lawful means and appealed to Governor Hope Uzodimma, the Inspector-General of Police, the Imo State Commissioner of Police and other relevant authorities to intervene.

“Our ancestral land has never been in dispute. We were never approached nor notified that the Imo State Government wants to take our land. We were not compensated and are now street urchins as Nwaneri and his thugs had rendered us homeless and restless,” Nkwazema lamented.

Efforts to reach Nwaneri and other relevant government officials for comments were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages sent to them had not been acknowledged as of the time of filing the report.