ABIA COMMUNITIES CRY OUT TO GOVERNOR OTTI OVER ALLEGED LAND GRABBING BY STATE OFFICIALS. (PHOTO).

 Abia Communities Cry Out to Governor Otti Over Alleged Land Grabbing by State Officials

Three villages in Isiala Arongwa community, Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area—Umuwafor, Umuokereke, and Umuwogu—have accused officials of the Abia State Government of trespassing and illegally parcelling out their ancestral lands, prompting an urgent “Save Our Soul” appeal to Governor Alex Otti.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, community spokesman Chief Apollos Ufomba alleged that the affected villages had previously donated large portions of land to the state government for the establishment of the permanent site of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic in Aba. Additional plots were later sold to private estate developers to promote local development.

According to Ufomba, the community and developers enjoyed peaceful possession until recently, when individuals claiming to be state government officials began invading the land, demarcating it, and allocating it to unknown private developers—often under heavy police escort.

“Whenever we confront them, they come with armed policemen and resist all efforts to engage,” Ufomba said, warning that continued encroachment could lead to a breakdown of law and order.

Counsel to some of the affected developers, Obioha Charles Edward, corroborated the claims, stating that his clients’ properties in Egbelu, Isiala Arongwa, were entered by armed men who began reallocating the land without authorization.

“They claimed the governor sent them and that the land had been acquired by the government,” Edward said, emphasizing that while the governor has the constitutional right to acquire land for public interest under Section 44(1) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 38 of the Land Use Act, due process—including prior notice and adequate compensation—must be followed.

Edward highlighted the plight of local investors, including Cyril Nwachukwu and Nkechi Nwachukwu, both indigenes of Osisioma Ngwa, who purchased land in their home area only to face alleged dispossession without compensation.

Community elders echoed the appeal to Governor Otti, urging him to intervene and halt what they described as the actions of “land speculators operating under the cover of government.”

Earlier in the day, youths from the villages staged a protest, marching through the area and condemning the alleged use of state authority to seize private and communal property.