?Distraught villagers beg Governor Soludo to intervene

By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Tension is thick in the air in Achalla community, Enugwu-Agidi in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State following what the residents described as a forceful and unlawful invasion of their ancestral lands by an estate company allegedly backed by heavily armed men.

The Incident involved indiscriminate clearing of farmlands and destruction of crops, has left the villagers in distress.

To this end, the distraught villagers have appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene.

According to the villagers who are predominantly farmers, there is an urgent need for the government and relevant authorities to intervene and put an end to a coordinated land-grabbing scheme that has left them devastated for years and made them unable to access their farmlands.

They also lamented that the issue is threatening their peace and livelihoods as a people.

Taking journalists round the parts of the affected lands in Ezionogwo, the villagers recounted how bulldozers, escorted by armed personnel, recently invaded their farmlands, destroying crops and economic trees, and clearing landmarks without their consent.

The situation, they said, left them in disarray, with farmers and land owners there counting their losses and fearing further encroachment.

In the course of the tour, a 72-year-old farmer was seen weeping inconsolably in his farm after discovering that the caterpillars had leveled his cassava plantation and other crops.

The man, identified as Linus Muokwugwo Onuigbo, lamented that the farmland had been his only means of survival and that the destruction had left him helpless and traumatized.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of Land Committee in the village, Mr. Johnbosco Nkem Ementa has described the incident as a violation of their ancestral heritage and an affront to justice.

He regretted that the activities of land grabbers have become a major and recurring issue in the Achalla Village, Mbanano, and the entire Enugwu-Agidi community.

He said: ?Just the day before yesterday, we got shocking news that tractors and some people were there, bulldozing the land from all angles ? left, right and centre.

?We had no other choice but to mobilize because this has become a recurring situation throughout every land Achalla has, and in many parts Mbanano and Enugwu-Agidi as a whole. All our lands are being encumbered by the Land Grabbers Association of Enugwu-Agidi.?

Ementa further narrated how farm products, including cassava and economic trees, were destroyed without authorization, emphasizing that the invaders even usually mount armed men in their bushes, making it impossible for villagers to access their farmlands and heritage.