BY JUDE OSSAI / ENUGU
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Irked by the alleged land grabbing, the people of Amankanu- Amurri Autonomous Community in Nkanu-West Local Government Area of Enugu State on Thursday, staged a peaceful protest to Government House, Enugu.
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The angry villagers including elderly men and women in their huge number, converged at Michael Okpara Square, Enugu at about 10am before marching to Government House, Enugu where they presented their grievances to Governor Peter Mbah.
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Among the protesters were Chief Francis Onwe, Francis Njoku and High Chief Polycarp Nweke, the Onowo of Amankanu.
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The protesters demanded for the suspension of their traditional ruler, Igwe Linus Nwobodo as well as removing the Community’s President-General (PG), Shedrack Okechukwu, whom they accused of being on acting capacity for long now.
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According to them, protesters, Igwe Nwobodo has been on the saddle for 19 years, stressing that they could no longer tolerate him.
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The protesting indigenes accused Igwe Nwobodo of land grabbing and high-handedness and insisted that he must go for peace to reign in their community.
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In a protest letter which they submitted to the governor and the commissioner for Chieftaincy Matters, respectively, they specifically accused Igwe Nwobodo and the PG, Okechukwu of “grabbing more than a thousand hectares of land belonging to individual members of Amankanu Autonomous Community with intimidation, claiming that the government of Enugu State has acquired the said land for economic purposes.”
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The demonstrators carried placards with some inscriptions that read: “Amankanu Amurri protest land grabbing of Amurri land by Igwe Linus Nwobodo and PG”, “Say no to bad leadership in Amankanu Amurri”, “Say no to Caretaker Committee”, “PG election must hold in Amankanu”, “Amankanu Autonomous Community rejects Igwe Linus Nwobodo as their traditional ruler”, “We say no to high-handedness in Amankanu.”
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A viral video portrayed the protesters chanting that their Igwe must go.
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The Spokesman of the group, Chief Eze-Ndigbo in London, Kingsley Chukwuma, told security men at Government House, since they were barred from seeing the Governor, that they have suffered a lot of intimidation from their traditional ruler who specializes in dispossessing them of their land, arresting and detaining people at will.
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Chukwuma said that the PG, Shedrack Okechukwu was imposed on them by Igwe Nwobodo who also hails from the same clan with the PG.
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He therefore explained that they were at the Government House to show their displeasure and their grievances against the royal father and urged government to intervene before the community is engulfed in crisis that could lead to bloodbath.
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“We have tolerated our Igwe for 19 years now. We have endured his excesses and we want him to do something before the community will be engulf in crisis. We are peaceful and law-abiding citizens and that is why we are here to see the Governor,” he said.
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Security personnel at Government House led by Greg Agu, a police officer, commended the people for their peaceful protest and thanked them for their maturity.
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“We shall take your message to the Governor. Already your protest letter is before him and I assure you that he will do something,” he told them.
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