From Magnus Eze, Enugu
The Emene community in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State has contested the Enugu State Government’s revocation of their ancestral land in the guise of acquiring it for a low cost mass housing project.
They contended that the state government had taken almost all their lands except the Akani Land Layout, which they said is the only portion remaining for their present and future generations.
The community wondered how the same state government, which had in 2012 approved the over 200 hectares for the community’s layout, would turn around to meddle in their only remaining land inheritance. They listed other portions of land in Emene community that had already been given out to government to include the Akanu Ibiam International airport hectares of land, the Nigeria Air Force Base Enugu, Eastern Nigeria industrial layouts, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depot, several other government-owned housing schemes and many more.
The community, through their counsels, B.N. Nebe and Emeka Abah alleged that what the state government was trying to do was to exterminate them, adding that even the government’s effort to acquire the land was a ploy to sell their remaining land to private individuals other than for over ridding public interest as it claimed.
They noted: “The land in issue is an ancestral land of the Emene Community that was shared among the adult male children of the community for their living homes and low cost mass housing project.
“The state government’s claims to the reason for the acquisition does not fall within the ambit of overriding public interest as stimulated by the land use Act 1978.
“The said land acquisition is inhuman, draconian, unlawful and unacceptable by our clients, Emene-Nike Community.”
The Enugu State Commissioner for Lands, Victor Nnam had on May 10 2021 issued a public notice where he cancelled and revoked the Akani ancestral layout for conflicting with other purportedly registered and unregistered layouts.