Scores of Umuejechi Nekede women yesterday held a peaceful protest over what they called the forceful takeover of their ancestral land by the Imo State government.
The aggrieved women claimed that the government seized the land despite subsisting court judgements in their favour.
Dressed in black attire, the women, chanting songs, displayed placards with varying inscriptions.
Some of the placards read, “Governor Uzodimma, we also have property rights; We can’t be slaves in our home; Governor Uzodimma, please leave our land for us; This is the only land left for us and our children”.
In his reaction, the commissioner for information and strategy, Hon. Declan Emelumba, said the disputed land belongs to the state government.
He stressed that no single individual has the capacity to intimidate the state government and they will not succumb to any form of threat.
According to him, this administration is law-abiding and will always follow due process in this regard.
Speaking to newsmen at the scene of the protest, the assistant woman leader, Ndom Umuejechi, Dr. Regina Emereonye, cautioned that anarchy would sadly take over, if and wherever the rule of law is jettisoned.
Her words, “We are a very peaceful community, but our peaceful stance to life and living should not be taken for granted by anybody.
“Anarchy, which blows no one any good, ultimately creeps in, anytime and wherever the rule of law is forced to take a flight in any place.
“The land in dispute is our ancestral land. It was leased to the defunct Eastern Region Government before the civil war, for agricultural purposes.
“Since the State Zoological Garden and Wildlife Park, which used to be money spinning tourist centre is moribund, the land ought to revert to the original land owners, in full compliance with the subsisting court judgments.”
Meanwhile, the community has through their counsel, U. B. O. Obinna, sent a letter to Governor Hope Uzodimma, on the continuous trespass into the land harbouring the defunct Agriculture Development Corporation.
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