Hundreds Of Delta Women Protest Alleged Land Grabbing By Nigerian Army

Hundreds of women drawn from Effurun and other neighbouring communities in Uvwie Council Area of Delta state have protested alleged land grabbing by the Nigerian Army.

The protesters alleged that the army had grabbed land spanning about 185.20 hectares which they now fraudulently sell to civilians in exorbitant rate to the detriment of the communities.

Numbering over 2,000, the protesters, who barricaded the Effurun roundabout axis of the East/West Road and created serious gridlock, however called on the Federal Government to immediately intervene and direct the Nigerian Army to release the land to their owners.

A spokesperson for the protesting women, Mrs. Maria Odjobu, said the people were now living in abject poverty since the military seized the land which they had been using for farming for decades.

She appealed to the military to immediately release the land to the people of Uvwie Kingdom.

Odjobu added, “They chased us from our farms and fish ponds from where we used to make money to take care of our children. Now we are hungry and we have come out today to tell the soldiers to give our land back to us.”

The placard-carrying women, who also protested to the palace of the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, HRM Emmanuel Sideso Abe I, said the disputed 185.20 hectares of land was not part of the land that was originally given to the 3 Battalion Effurun.

Addressing the protesters at his palace, HRM Abe I, said, “When I ascended the throne, we made several attempts to get back some of the unoccupied areas by the army. We generously gave them over 2,000 hectares in 1974 with the aim of establishing the Nigerian Defence Academy, but unfortunately, the defence academy was moved to Kaduna.

“We then asked that the unoccupied part of the land be returned since the defence academy is no more here. We approached them but no response. Rather, my subjects have been deprived from even living in the place. Three years ago, they marked even the village for demolition which was not part of the land given to them. They have illegally extended the land without our knowledge.”

On his part, President-General of the Uvwie General Improvement Union, Chief Austin Ukuwrere, clarified that the disputed land was the unused piece of land after the completion of the construction and occupation of the 3 battalion Barracks,  Effurun in 1979 by the army.

Efforts to get clarification on the disputed and from the Commander, 3 Battalion Barracks, Effurun, Major Ahmed Abdulkadir, proved abortive as repeated calls and text messages to his telephone were neither answered nor replied.

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