Anambra Community Rejects N73m Land Compensation

Angered by what it described as the unfair treatment meted to it by the Anambra State Government, the Umuleri Community in Anambra East Local Government Area has rejected the sum of N73 million as compensation for its land taken over by government.

Before this development, the two communities of Umuleri and Aguleri had been neck deep in land dispute, which led to the two years communal clash, which consumed lives and property between 1997 and 1999. Against the backdrop of putting an end to the crisis, the state government took over the land and announced the payment of compensations to the affected communities.

But in a letter signed by the prime minister of Umuleri, Chief Mike Ekweonu, the regent, Prince Chuma Okoye, among others, the community accused government of bias, for which it rejected the said sum.

In the said letter addressed to Governor Willie Obiano, the community contended that: “We have found a lot of flaws in the acquisition and allied issues. For one thing, the land acquired exclusively belongs to Umuleri. It includes the premises of Umuleri Lions Club, which was wrongly identified by Government as Otu- Ocha Lions Club. “It comprises a large chunk of Aguakor land, Obinnetiti Umuleri etc. If this extra-ordinarily large expanse of land is excised from Umuleriland, we wonder where our children and children’s children will live, farm and carry out other activities in future.

“Secondly, there was a deliberate effort to shortchange Umuleri in the acquisition process and payment of compensation. For instance, a lot of documents were fraudulently brought at the eleventh hour, while the memorandum earlier submitted by our lawyer was cast overboard. Specifically, Barrister Ngangah Okey was not known to us and should not have been foisted on the exercise at a time when the document had been brought to Your Excellency for your signature.

“Thirdly, payment of compensation for land acquisition by government is usually determined by the economic trees and commercial crops found on the land and enumerated. But, in this particular case, there was no prior enumeration of such crops and trees belonging to Umuleri people. We wonder how the amount kept for Umueri was determined,” it added.