Scores of women from Umuejechi Nekede community in Imo State have staged a peaceful protest against what they described as the forceful takeover of their ancestral land by the Imo State Government.

The protesters alleged that the state government had seized their land despite existing court judgments that upheld their ownership rights.

Dressed in black attire to symbolize mourning, the women chanted protest songs and carried placards with inscriptions such as “Governor Uzodimma, we also have property rights,” “We can’t be slaves in our home,” and “Please leave our land for us — this is the only land left for us and our children.”

Speaking during the protest, Dr. Mrs. Regina Emereonye, Assistant Woman Leader of Ndom Umuejechi, warned that disregarding the rule of law could lead to social unrest.

“We are a peaceful community, but our patience should not be mistaken for weakness,” she said.
“Anarchy sets in when the rule of law is ignored. The disputed land is our ancestral property, leased to the defunct Eastern Region Government before the civil war for agricultural purposes.”

Dr. Emereonye added that since the Imo State Zoological Garden and Wildlife Park, once a thriving tourist attraction, has become moribund, the land should revert to the original owners in accordance with the subsisting court rulings.

Meanwhile, the community, through its legal counsel Mr. U. B. O. Obinna, has written to Governor Hope Uzodimma, protesting what it described as continued trespass on lands that previously housed the defunct Agricultural Development Corporation.

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