By Our Reporter
The Umumgba Community of Obioma Autonomous in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area has raised serious allegations against Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu, the Special Adviser/Political Bureau to the Governor, accusing him of aiding Mr. Stanley Morocco in the forceful acquisition of their ancestral land.
In a video interview, Mr. Anyanwu Chikadibia, a representative of the affected family, expressed the community’s distress over the unauthorized encroachment on their land. He detailed how Mr. Stanley Morocco, allegedly not an indigene of Obioma Autonomous Community, approached the community under the pretext of representing the state government. Morocco claimed that the government intended to build a facility on the land and requested that the community cede a portion for this purpose.
However, when the landowners demanded official documentation from the Ministry of Lands or the Governor’s office to validate Morocco’s claims, he refused to provide any such documents. Instead, Morocco allegedly insisted that Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu was aware of the request and urged the landowners to comply without the necessary paperwork. The community, adhering to due process, declined to release their land without proper documentation and an agreement for compensation.
The situation escalated when Mr. Anyanwu Chikadibia was reportedly falsely accused of armed robbery, a charge that led to his arrest and subsequent incarceration. Chikadibia alleges that this accusation was part of a conspiracy between Morocco and Onuegbu to intimidate him and his family, thereby facilitating the illegal sale of their land.
“After months of incarceration, I secured my bail, only to return home and find that our land, totaling 6,000 plots, had been cleared and sold to estate developers,” Chikadibia lamented. He further recounted the harassment and intimidation his family has faced, including being chased out of their farms by individuals allegedly working on behalf of Morocco and Onuegbu.
Chikadibia asserted that the land in question has never been in dispute or subject to any legal claims, contrary to what Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu has reportedly been telling people. “Onuegbu claims that the land has pending legal issues, but we challenge him and Morocco to present any lawsuit proving their claims and show any connection they have to our community,” he stated.
The Umumgba Community is now appealing to the Imo State Government to intervene and clarify whether Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu and Mr. Stanley Morocco were indeed acting on behalf of the government in this matter. The community seeks the return of their ancestral land and justice for the wrongs they believe have been committed against them.
This developing situation raises significant concerns about land rights, the abuse of power, and the need for transparency in government dealings involving local communities.
