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By Madu Obi
Members of the Divine Heaven Amalgamated Landlords Association, Ifite-Nteje in Oyi local government area of Anambra State have protested the destruction of their property by suspected youths of the community, who complaining about alleged illegal sale of the lands.
No fewer than 70 associations acquired land at strategic positions along the airport road and most of the buildings were at various stages of completion before their destruction.
The protesters, comprising men and women trooped out in their hundreds, displaying placards with varying inscriptions.
Several buildings, including a hotel close to the Anambra Airport, now renamed Chinua Achebe Airport, worth millions of naira were said to have been destroyed at the instigation by the executive members of Ifite-Nteje Development Union.
Chairman of the association, Chief Patrick Maduegbuna, who led the protest, appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene to avoid total break down of law and order in the area.
Maduegbuna said: "The transaction took place in 2019 and the association started developing the place after payment.
But all of a sudden, they started demolishing our property there, saying the land deal had been revoked. They demolished houses, hotel and other buildings nearing completion.
We called them to know what was the matter and they said we did not buy the land genuinely. They said we should buy the land again or add money.
We, therefore, chose to protest, rather than taking laws into our hands. There are more than seven estates there and all we want is to have our property back."
Also speaking, the association's secretary, Mr Nwako Maduka said the landlords paid all the required dues and the documents signed by the same people who were trying to revoke the land sold to them genuinely.
For the chairman of Ifite-Nteje land management committee, Chief Ikechukwu Erikeife, some young men who previously sold their own plots were making efforts to resell the same land, adding that land grabbing to make money at all cost was the cause of the confusion in Ifite-Nteje.
He claimed that the land was acquired by the developers through the right source and promised to look into the situation as the protesters could not afford to buy the land for the second time.
Also, the secretary of ifite-Nteje land management committee, Mr Ngoesina Okechukwu described those behind the allegations as meddlesome interlopers, saying Ifite-Nteje community has a way of appointing its leadership.
Okechukwu said the estate developers followed the due process in the acquisition of the land from Ifite-Nteje.
He added: " The group claiming to be executive members of Ifite-Nteje Development Union said they had abolished the Ifite-Nteje land management committee and revoked the land sold to the landlords association.
The Ifite-Nteje land management committee is a body constituted by the community with power of attorney which could sue and be sued.
The court had taken judicial notice of the land committee as representative of Ifite-Nteje in so many cases, securing judgement for the entire Nteje community."
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