Residents of Nguru Nsukka, a community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, have strongly condemned what they described as the unlawful and forceful acquisition of their ancestral land by the local council authorities.

 

The community accused the Nsukka Local Government, under the leadership of Chairman Mr. Jude Asogwa, of seizing their land without due consultation or agreement, under the pretext of developing an international market. According to the aggrieved indigenes, no form of dialogue or negotiation was initiated with them before the council moved to take over the land.

 

In an apparent move to prevent a planned protest by the community, a joint team of security operatives reportedly occupied the disputed land in the early hours of Saturday.

 

Despite this, community members gathered at the palace of their traditional ruler and later staged a peaceful protest, expressing outrage over what they described as the chairman’s high-handedness and disregard for lawful procedures.

 

Speaking to the press, the President General of the community, Chief Builder Ugwu Ignatius, Nguru Youth Association Chairman Mr. Ozioko Ejiofor, and High Chief Ozioko Thomas Obute, all criticized the council’s approach. They emphasized that although the community is not opposed to development, there are established legal and traditional procedures for acquiring communal land — procedures that were blatantly ignored.

 

The leaders stressed that the disputed land belongs to Nguru Nsukka, not Odoro Nsukka, which they claimed has no ancestral claim in the area. They also noted that no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed, nor were terms of compensation discussed.

 

“Our farmland, including crops like pepper, tomatoes, cucumbers, and garden eggs, has been destroyed without our consent. We will not be bullied into surrendering our land,” they said.

 

The community further questioned why the government failed to utilize over 80 hectares of unused land directly opposite the disputed site or other large parcels acquired during past administrations.

 

They urged Governor Peter Mbah to intervene and direct the council chairman to adhere to proper procedures. They also called on the Nigerian Police to protect Nguru residents from alleged intimidation and abuse of power.

 

Efforts to get a response from Chairman Jude Asogwa were unsuccessful, as he neither answered phone calls nor responded to messages at the time of filing this report.