Umuejechi Nekede women recently staged a peaceful protest against what they perceive as the Imo State Government’s “forceful takeover of their ancestral land.”
The women emphasized that the land was acquired “despite subsisting court judgments in their favour.”
Dressed uniformly, these women voiced their grievances through placards bearing poignant messages. Some of the messages included:
“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.”
Dr. Mrs. Regina Emereonye, the Assistant Woman Leader of Ndom Umuejechi, spoke to reporters during the protest. She said,
“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.”
In response to the ongoing land encroachment near the defunct Agriculture Development Corporation, the community has reached out to Governor Hope Uzodimma through their legal representative, Mr. U. B. O. Obinna.
| Vanguard
