By Mbaishii People
As we speak k to you now, the Nigerian military and the police have occupied over 30,000 hectares of farmland belonging to Mbaishii communities in aid of land grabbing by the Imo state government in favour of Evangelist Ebuka Obi and his Zion Ministry incorporated for over nine months now.Mbaishii was originally made up of 6 large autonomous communities namely: Eziama, Alulu, Amala, Ntu, Obokwe, and Oburu autonomous communities located in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State.
With a combined land mass of over 200 km2 and from which five additional autonomous communities of Alatia-Amala, Ikem, Ubichukwu, Umuchulu and Okpala have been created. This conference is addressed by Umuchie Eziama, Umulu, Umuegirige, Umuogba Eziama, Umuocham Ntu, Umuokpo Ntu, Umuhoko Ntu and Alatia-Amala autonomous communities which constitute a on as substantial part of the area known as Mbaishii in Ngor-Okpala Local Government of Imo State.
We are crying to the world to hear us that over 80% of our farmland, from which we make a living, generate income to finance the education of their children, pay taxes, contribute to community development projects, foot critical health bills, fund marriages and burials, as well as other state government engagements, as majority of us are predominantly peasant farmers, with no other ostensible means of livelihood.
We hereby bring to the knowledge of the world that in the 2024 farming season, our people were able, as usual, to cultivate very large proportions of our farmlands spanning across over ten thousand hectares with crops like cassava, yams, potatoes, vegetables, Plantain and other edible roots and grains.
While we were expecting to enjoy bountiful harvest from our 2024 farming season and also commence our farming activities for 2025 season, our hopes and high expectations were dashed with depression as we saw massive deployment of Men of the Nigeria Military, Police and other security personnel on the instructions of the Imo State Government since the beginning of 2025.
Destroying our farms and their yields of the 2024 farming seasons and also preventing us from farming on the lands, all in a bid to forcefully take over our farmlands illegally under the guise of compulsory land acquisition. This is a gross violation of Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees the rights to property, economic, social and cultural development with due regard to our freedom and identity and in the equal enjoyment of common heritage of man.
The Charter in Article 14 specifies that the right to property can only be encroached upon for reasons of public need or general interest of the community. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right enjoins States and Governments to individually or collectively ensure that the exercise of this right is not compromised.
While we concede to the right of the Imo State Government to compulsorily acquire land within the state, we also insist that such compulsory land acquisition must be for demonstrable overriding public purposes with strict compliance with the due process of law in consonance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Land Use Act 1978.
We wish to state categorically that the Imo State
Government, at no time acquired the 30,000 hectares of land or any portion thereof in respect of which the Imo State Governor, hiding under the cover of the Government of Imo State has deployed the Men of the Nigeria Army, Police and other security personnel to parade and occupy, as no such documents to such purported acquisitions exists anywhere.
We do recall that sometime in 2006, the I
The Governorship of Chief Achike Udenwa had indicated interest in compulsorily acquiring about 2,000 hectares of land for a certain Chinese village, but the move was aborted following the insincerity of the handlers of the so-called acquisition and the consequential widespread opposition and multiple litigations by indigenous land owners and all other stakeholders against the perceived fraudulent acquisition.
As a matter of fact, two villages namely Umuokpo Ntu and Umuhoko Ntu, in old Ntu autonomous community in Mbaisii, got two separated judgments wherein the Imo State High Court declared the purported acquisition as unlawful and unconstitutional and made orders of perpetual injunction restraining the Imo state Government and her agents from trespassing into their lands.
The said judgments of the Imo State High Court were in suit numbers HOW/624/2006 delivered on Monday 24th day of May 2010 by and HOW/627/2006 delivered on Tuesday 26th of July 2011 both judgments were delivered by Justice C. M. I. Ego.