Imo community accuses Air Force of ‘land grabbing’

Umuotukwe, Umuowa com­munity in Ngor Okpala Local Govern­ment Area of Imo State has accused the Nigeria Airforce of occupying their land without any proper pre-consultation.

Youths and women of the community reg­istered their grievances in a peaceful protest at the site the Airforce has mapped out as their 211 Regiment Group Base.

According to the leader of the protesters, Uzoma Nwachukwu, he claimed that the Air­force left them out of the negotiation and instead negotiated with the tra­ditional rulers of Owerri North.

He maintained that the land belongs to Ngor Okpala and not Owerri North Lo­cal Government. “This land belongs to Umuotukwe,Umuowa; we are peace-loving people; we are not Ow­erri North. We are Ngor Okpala”, some of the in­scriptions on their plac­ards read.

However, Governor Okorocha, who ad­dressed them assured of equity and adequate compensation but warned that the com­munity should not un­dermine the efforts of the state government to bring development to the state.

Source – The Authority