Pecohub A family in Owerre Ohodo in the Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, has accused the Federal Polytechnic Ohodo and its officials of allegedly taking over about 40 acres of its ancestral land without consultation or compensation.
The Umu Ogbonogu family also alleged that the fencing off of the land led to the desecration of an ancestral shrine and burial ground.
The family made the allegations on Tuesday in Enugu by the head of family and President General of Owerre Autonomous Community, Chief Ikechukwu Asogwa.
Asogwa said the land was taken without any engagement with the family, adding, “I am directly from Umu Ogbonogu clan, where our ancestral land was forcibly taken without consultations, no interface, no discussions, nothing. We woke up one day to see that the land had been barricaded.
“There was a very big shrine in that particular place. The law says there is freedom of worship, but in our case, we have been denied that right.”
Asogwa maintained that Ohodo had no communal land, arguing that lands in the area were owned by families.
“In Ohodo where I come from, we don’t have any communal land. What we have are ancestral land and family land,” he said.
He alleged that individuals who were not members of the family signed documents, including a memorandum of understanding, relating to the land.
“There was no meeting with the families, no consultation with the families, and no interface with the families, absolutely nothing! What we saw was that a group of people just signed a document,” he said.
He further alleged that appointments intended for the host community were shared among the same group of people, with some allegedly sold.
“The rightful owners of the land were denied employment, whereas their land was forcibly taken,” he said.
The family member also accused the polytechnic authorities of contributing to the decline of Community Secondary School, Ohodo, alleging that funds provided for the school’s take-off and relocation of pupils were not properly utilised.
He said the community was subsequently asked to contribute money towards providing another learning facility, which he claimed was not completed.
Asogwa said the family was not opposed to the establishment or development of the institution, but wanted members’ rights respected.
