An association of private farm owners in Etche has petitioned the Inspector General of Police and Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike over attempts by alleged land grabbers to disposes them of their land.
The body made up of farmers and an agro cooperative society named United Port Harcourt Peoples Cooperative and Credit Investment Ltd said they purchased the land from Nwala family of Umuodaka Abara Etche.
They also alleged in their petition that the alleged land grabbers have strong network backed up by security agencies within the state and beyond.”
Lawyer to the group, Gospel Agi while addressing newsmen on the matter stated that the farmers had acquired the land legally with verifiable papers registered by government, noting that a High Court in Okehi in 2007 had given judgement on the real owners of the land.
The court had in its judgment given perpetual injunction barring any trespassers from entering the land, he added.
The land is located at Umuadaka community in Abara Etche Local Government Area.
He expressed surprise that the police are yet to wade in as the land grabbers have begun destroying their properties which covers over 200 plots of plantain and pineapple plantation, including 900 plots of lands acquired by the cooperative society to set up agro processing plant.
Agi further disclosed that as at last week, the land grabbers went into the land, drove farmers from the land and some were harassed and assaulted by gunwielding mercenaries.
The legal practitioner submitted that an earlier petition they wrote to the State Police Commissioner over the matter has not been addressed for almost seven months.
He lamented that several petitions raised over the matter sent to the Local Government Chairman and Divisional police in Etche were yet to be addressed as the lives of the farmers are being threatened daily.
The lawyer added that,” last week one farm house owned by our clients was completely raised down.
Already, bulldozers are now on the site, as against a court judgment and order and injunction”.
He noted that many of the farmers had to run to save their lives, since the land grabbers use armed militiamen to stop the farmers from accessing their properties.
