Edoji community is in tears as Mr. Augustine Ekechukwu (Agunyi) was fingered as responsible for the devastating demolition that took place in Edoji Community of Nnewi yesterday in Nnewi North LGA of Anambra State. As at press time, a victim of the demolition is said to have ran mad and the mother in coma arising from the shock of the demolition without priori notice.
Recall that Edoji community has been in feudal crisis as some known person who owns section of the land in Ugwu Ahaba Edoji came together to form the so called land lord association with the noble objective of creating roads through the land to hasting development.
However, this noble objective assumed criminal dimension when they enforced boundary between Edoji and Ojoto without the signature of the existing traditional institutions in the community or that of Nnewi at large. To that effect a lot of family lost their ancestral land to Ojoto a different town in a different local government area. It was rumored that they later went behind to collect kick back from Ojoto community who now settle in Edoji land.
The peak of this criminal conversion was when they made a law that everybody will lose twenty percent of his land to the land lord association to create roads and other social amenities. They went ahead to register the entire land as Maryland estate as against it’s original name Ugwu Ahaba Edoji. Enforced their law on those who refuse to join the association because of the land grabbing past records of few persons in the leadership. In fact, another name for the estate according to someone who lost his father to the excessive use of force by these individuals is “Ndi Oshi Ana” and it has no true English translation.
When the community carried out independent investigation it was discovered that if each person loses twenty percent of his land that the left over land will be in excess of over two hundred plots of land. Thus, it was discovered that what was required was just about five percent of each plot to create roads as against twenty percent. More still other family who did not get notice on time and those who reside in Lagos after the unconstitutional, mischievous and unprofessional creation of roads and closes, could not locate their lands as the entire demarcations were lost.
Following this development, people like Augustine Ekechukwu who contracted the company that brought in the tractor for the demolition got wealthy overnight, bought a Lexus Jeep and started building a duplex and he was initially a petty trader who was selling drinks before former Coca Cola office Nnewi.
Suddenly the fortune of the members of Maryland Association changed overnight and their new political appointment became criminal conversion of lands belonging to people who could not identify their ancestral lands. Severally, a lot of persons bought land in Edoji from Augustine Ekechukwu and his colleagues and the true owner later surfaced and the buyer was shown another land different from the one he bought as replacement. Cases like that are too numerous to be mentioned.
However, the community through the instrumentality of a major stakeholder Sir, Augustine Onyekachukwu Ike-Ikedoji called for a meeting and prepared a memorandum of understanding between the community and the few landlords who registered the area. After signing the documents, they later realised the clause which transfers the remaining land to the community and quickly pulled out of the agreement.
bellnewsonline.com discovered after the yesterday mindless demolition that it was this so called Maryland Association that misinformed the physical planning on the true status of the land and it led to several demolitions.
As at the time of filing this report, the management of bellnewsonline.com placed a call across to the leadership of the association and they declined knowledge of what happened. However, the company that owned the tractor told Bell News online com that they were contacted by Mr. Augustine Ekechukwu and he did not properly reveal to them the nature of the job.
bellnewsonline.com has opened communication with the director of physical planning and it appears he did not directly order the demolition but assured us that he will get back to us shortly.
Meanwhile, those affected told us that they were not served court order or any demolition notice. One of them said that those who came for the demolition broke into his premises which is far away from the estate area and made away with his valuables.
Stay with us for update on this demolition, but the leadership of Edoji community maintained that they have no single government presence or project in Edoji save the present demolition and they will use every means available to get justice, if His Excellency; the Executive Governor of Anambra State; Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo fail to address this inhumanity within record time.