THREE members of a family in Amechi
community, Awkunanaw Local Government Area of Enugu State have lost
their lives over a land dispute.
The victims were identified as Nnaemeka Agbo (alias Echidime), Sunday Nnamani, and Nnamani Ikpa.
The disputed land lies directly opposite
government-owned Millennium Estate, which is still under construction
along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.
It was gathered that a yet-to-be
identified gunman shot and killed the young men on May 1, 2015 while
they were on the said land.
Our correspondent learnt that the three
men were part of a 15-man delegation sent by a faction of those laying
claim to ownership of the land to undertake an on-the-spot inspection of
the land and report back to the larger family.
It was also learnt that the two factions
locked in the bloody dispute were from the same kindred – the
Umuaniebo
clan of Isiagu, Amechi, Uwani in Enugu South Local Government Area of
the state.
The traditional ruler of the town, Igwe
Joseph Aniebonam Ogbodo, had to cut short his overseas trip as a result
of the development.
According to a source in the community,
who did not wish to be named, the three families of the Umuaniebo clan,
namely Umunwakum, Umunogo and Umunengene, jointly owned the disputed
land and several others in various parts of the Enugu Capital Territory
area, especially Achara and Independence layouts, and Awkunanaw.
The source said the Umunengenes suddenly
turned round to claim exclusive ownership of the piece of land on which
the fatal shootings took place.
The development pitted the Umunengenes against the two other families – the Umunwakums and Umunogos.
Throwing more light on the matter, a
community leader, Chief Oliver Agbo, said events leading up to the
killings were triggered when “certain elements on the other side began
to clear the vast land in dispute, using caterpillars and bulldozers”.
“They claimed that they wanted to build an exclusive estate and may even have collected money from people as we learnt.
“We reported the development to our son
and Mayor of Enugu South Local Government Area, Hon. Victor Agbo, whom
we gathered promptly briefed the police authorities, upon which a
stay-clear order was issued to all parties,” he added.
He further explained that on the day the
men were shot and killed, the deceased were part of a larger team
mandated by the Umunwakum and Umunogo families to visit the site to
ascertain the level of compliance with the police directive.
“Three healthy young men were killed
instantly as gunshots rang out from all directions; so many more escaped
with varying degrees of bullet wounds, while others were butchered with
machetes and axes”, Agbo recounted.
He, however, urged the police to identify and arrest those who engaged in the killings, which he described as genocide.
“It is insensitive, the height of
recklessness and impunity for people to pick up arms against unarmed
opponents in a civil contest.
“We do not want to take the laws into our
own hands and then begin to decimate ourselves further; let the police
help us by identifying and arresting specific culprits involved and then
hold them to account,” he added.
Source: The Punch
