Women wail, roll on farmland as community protests alleged land acquisition
Wailing uncontrollably, some clutching their children and others collapsing onto the soil they say feeds their families, women of Ugakwoche village in Egbule Obube community, Owerri North Local Government Area
Wailing uncontrollably, some clutching their children and others collapsing onto the soil they say feeds their families, women of Ugakwoche village in Egbule Obube community, Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State, have poured out their grief in a dramatic protest against what they described as the forceful acquisition of their ancestral farmland by Imo State Government
Dressed in black and chanting mournful songs, the women—joined by youths, elders and community leaders—marched from their village square to the disputed farmland, a stretch of over two kilometres linking Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Road.
Many rolled on the ground in anguish, weeping openly as they held placards bearing inscriptions such as: “All the land belonging to Ugakwoche is gone,” “Our children’s future is in danger,” and “Your Excellency, please come to our rescue.”
“Our land is our life,” shouted one of the protesting mothers amid tears: “If they take this remaining farmland, how do we feed our children? Where do we go?”
The protest, which remained peaceful, was sparked by fears that about 200 hectares—allegedly their remaining ancestral farmland—were being taken over without consultation or compensation.
Speaking on behalf of the community, Chairman of Ugakwoche village, Pastor Cletus Opara, lamented what he described as the absence of dialogue and due process.
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“We are here on a peaceful demonstration to register our anger over government action by using its agents to enter our remaining ancestral farmland and start bulldozing it without prior information,” he said.
Opara said the community had previously relinquished about 100 hectares for Nigerian Air Force Base in the interest of public development, but described the latest move as “an attempt to kill us.”
“They had earlier acquired part of our land and we cooperated, but coming back again to take the remaining without negotiation means they want to destroy our means of livelihood,” he added. “If government does not come to our rescue, they may be encouraging criminality and kidnapping to thrive in our area.”
A community leader, Kelechi Opara, accused the government of pushing the people toward displacement.
“To our greatest surprise, the same government is here again without notice to take even where we live. Our people are peasant farmers; if you take away our only source of livelihood, you are condemning us to death,” he said. “We appeal to the governor to save us from what looks like the annihilation of our people.”
Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Enyinnaya Onuegbu, a barrister, dismissed the allegations, insisting that there was no fresh acquisition of land.
“It is not a new acquisition,” he said. “What is ongoing is the recovery and clearing of land already acquired long ago for developmental purposes, excluding areas given as compensation to native landowners.”
Onuegbu advised the community to channel their grievances formally through their traditional ruler to the governor, noting that under the Land Use Act, the governor holds custodial authority over all land in the state for public purposes.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Monitoring and Compliance, Chinasa Nwaneri, refuted claims of land grabbing, urging the protesters to seek redress through official communication.
“The remaining part of the land has been mapped out for the building of a sub-station of the Orashi power project. It is for the public good,” he explained.
Despite these assurances, the cries of the women and the visible anguish of the protesters underscored a deepening tension, as the community insists their survival is tied to the land now at the centre of the dispute.
