News

Enugu Community Express Confidence To Get Justice In Case Of Police Intimidation, Land Grabbing

Published

8 months ago

May 2, 2024

By Gloria Ikibah

Chairman of the Obeagu Town Union Litigation Committee, in Obeagu Awkunanaw local government of Enugu State, Chiene Chiene, has expressed confidence that the community will get justice in the case of an alleged police harassment as well land grabbing in a petition presented to the House of Representatives.

Naijablitznews.com reports that the community had petitioned the House over allegations of land grabbing and police harassment which led to the destruction of property as well as the loss of lives by certain interests.

A petition was written to the House Committee on Public Petitions, and during hearing , the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Mike Etaba, struck out the case of land grabbing, and said it was before a court of competent jurisdiction.

He however vowed that the issue of intimidation and harassment by the police would be followed up to the letter.

In his submission, Chiene said, “We presented our petition asking the national assembly to come to our rescue to stop the police intimidation and harassment. That is why we went there so that whether this issue of whether or not our land was legally acquired should be put to rest. They are forceful land grabbers. We are happy with the situation as they are sending their legal consultant to do some underground assessments of the situation. So we believe very strongly that we would get what we are looking for which is justice and peace given the facts before them”.

He said the police should not be used to harass them as the matter is in court.

According to Chiene, there was a siege laid against the community at large as a result of the conspiracies and plans orchestrated principally by the trio of Dr. Festus Uzor, Kingsley Eze and Barrister Gozie Okoye to forcefully take over their land.

The petition presented to the House reads: “We must state that the attempt to forcefully take over and sell off our ancestral land was hatched sometime in 2009 by the ‘three musketeers’ named above. The question is what is their connection in relation to this issue at stake?

“As earlier stated, sometime in 2009, Dr. Festus Uzor was the Commissioner for Lands, Enugu State during the tenure of Bar. Sullivan Chime, Bar Gozie Okoye was the Branch Manager of Diamond Bank, Enugu while Kingsley Eze of Private Estates Int’l West Africa, (PEIWA) who was hardly known then, apparently dangled this heinous project or what we could regard as ‘operation take over Obeagu land’ to the other two who gladly saw the potentials of the ‘deal’ and keyed into it.

“Thus, Dr. Festus Uzor used his office as the Commissioner for Lands, and did sign the letter of offer to PEIWA, then Barr Gozie Okoye used his office to secure a Two-Billion-naira loan facility secured with our land, and thereafter hell was let loose, and our community became a battle ground for every land grabber to unleash their selfish pangs against us. It is needless to say that since this conspiracy was hatched and purportedly executed, we as a community have known no peace; as we have been continually victimized, dehumanized, degraded, incarcerated and made to suffer helplessly.

“We pray you to come to our rescue and protect us from the stranglehold of those named persons, particularly, Kingsley Eze of PEIWA, who have left nothing to spare in their bid to emasculate and annihilate us to enable them take over our land. We must not also fail to report the activities and oppressive conducts of SP Chidiebere Ijomah, DCP Olasoji Akinbayo and the Area Commander Metro, ACP Sogbeba Dulphine, who are being used by the land grabbers to oppress, intimidate and cow us to submit willy-nilly to the illegal acquisition and take-over of our ancestral land.”

The community prayed the House to stop the menace of the allegd land grabbers and save our community from the invasion and forceful takeover of our ancestral land.

“We are convinced you have the capacity to draw the attention of the Enugu State Government to the excesses of the officials of ECTDA who are being used by the land grabbers to forcefully dispossess us of our ancestral land. The Enugu State Government must bring an end to these unwholesome activities of these land grabbers in order to pave way for the peaceful development of the state.

“We have it on good authority that because the fraudulent loan as granted by Gozie Okoye and his cohorts to PEIWA, secured with our land, which loan has obviously been mismanaged, the AMCON may get involved, which implies that we may permanently lose our land if nothing is done now. We implore you therefore to invite the NDIC to investigate the circumstances which led to the said loan and the use of our land as security without our knowledge or consent.

“Lastly, we also pray you to direct the police high command to apply appropriate sanctions against the above named officers who have clearly abused their offices in their pursuit of their selfish interest or personal aggrandizements,” the community requested.

News

Just in; Chief of Staff to Kwara Gov is dead

Published

11 minutes ago

December 28, 2024

Naijablitznews

Prince AbdulKadir Mahe, the Chief of Staff to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, is dead.

He passed away on Saturday morning, December 28, 2024.

He will be buried today at his home on Moro Street, Adewole Estate, Ilorin, after the Asr prayer.

The governor and others have sent their sympathies to his family and loved ones.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye confirmed the development also confirmed in a statement.

The statement said: “In total submission to the will of Allaah, we regret to announce the passing of the Chief of Staff to His Excellency, Prince AbdulKadir Mahe.

“He died this morning, December 28, 2024, as has been destined by Allaah.

“The late CoS will be buried today at his residence on Moro Street, Adewole Estate, Ilorin, after the Asr prayer.

His Excellency deeply mourns the death of Prince AbdulKadir Mahe, a perfect gentleman, community leader, urbane public servant, and a statesman.

“The governor commiserates with the Emir of Ilorin, Alh. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, the immediate family of Prince AbdulKadir; government establishments; and cabinet members.

“We ask for the understanding of everyone at this mournful period as the government and family mourn the quintessential public servant.

“We pray that Allaah accept his return, ease his accounts, admit him to al-jannah Firdaus, and uphold his family upon goodness

News

BLACKOUT as TCN Announces Power Outage In Abuja

Published

3 hours ago

December 28, 2024

Naijablitznews

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced planned power outages in certain areas this weekend to allow for maintenance work on its transmission equipment.

According to a statement by the General Manager of Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, the exercise is aimed at ensuring better service delivery.

On Saturday, December 28, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Gwagwalada and nearby communities will experience a temporary power outage. This is to allow engineers to perform maintenance on a 60MVA transformer and related switchgear at the Gwagwalada Transmission Substation.

Similarly, on Sunday, December 29, 2024, power will be interrupted in several areas, including Wuye, EFCC, Federal Medical Centre, Coca-Cola, Idu Railway Station, Citec, and Life Camp. The outage will occur from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. as engineers carry out work on another 60MVA transformer at the Kukwaba Transmission Substation.

In the statement, TCN apologized for the inconvenience caused by the outages and sought the understanding of affected customers. It emphasized the importance of the maintenance work to ensure the power equipment functions optimally. “TCN apologizes for the inconvenience this may cause, especially during the end-of-year season. However, it is important that maintenance is carried out as scheduled for optimal performance of power equipment,” the statement read.

News

BREAKING! Confusion trails free train ride, hundreds of passengers stranded(PHOTOS)

Published

3 hours ago

December 28, 2024

Naijablitznews

* As train is delayed, NRC officials demand tickets

By Emmanuel Agaji

The much publicised tree train ride for passengers travelling to different destinations along the Itakpe/ Warri route may be a hoax as officials of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) at Itakpe, Kogi State, demand e-tickets and other evidence of payment for the trip.

Naojablitznews observed that upon arrival at the train station, travellers are accosted by the train operators to show their tickets to confirm their booking for the ride.

When a passenger shows his ticket, he is allowed to move into the Departure Lounge while those who had arrived on the assumption that the train ride was free are shoved aside , told to write down their names on a sheet of paper and stay under a canopy until those who paid for the trip have been allocated seats on the train.

The Federal Government had, a few days ago announced that Nigerians will enjoy free train rides during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The government also announced that transportation by road would be subsidised up to fifty per cent. However, these promises appear to have been mere propaganda.

The situation has left many travellers confused and stranded especially as
the train which ought to take off from Itakpe at t 2 pm on Saturday has not shown up at the station as at 3.16 pm.

Hundreds of passengers are currently stranded and waiting under the scorching heat of the sun as officials continue their discriminatory admission of passengers into the Departure Lounge.

There are fears that the train may not hit the station until about 4 pm and many passengers may not have space on it because of the perceived underhand dealings by the train officials.

While the officials of the Itakpe Train Station continue to plead for understanding over the delay of the train, their emphasis has been on how to cater for those who booked online for the trip and very little or no emphasis is made to reassure those who came for the free ride announced by the Federal Government that they were at the right place.