Residents of the Site and Services Housing Estate in Avu, Owerri, Imo State, have urged the federal government to intervene in an ongoing land dispute to prevent trespass on their property.
The residents, represented by the Avu Federal Housing Estate Neighbourhood Association, expressed concerns over alleged threats from individuals claiming to act on behalf of the Imo State Government.
In a statement released on Thursday in Owerri, spokesperson Mr. Chimaeze Nwokenne and secretary Mrs. Nnenna Njideofor called on the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, to protect the property rights of the estate’s allottees.
The association claimed that persons brandishing documents purporting to revoke their land had recently visited the estate.
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The residents raised concerns over the Imo State Government’s purported plans to build its own housing estate on the same land allocated to them by the federal government. They questioned the legitimacy of the revocation notice, stating that it had not been presented as part of the defense in an earlier court case (Suit No. HOW/601/2017).
According to the association, the federal government acquired the land from the state in 1987, compensating the original owners before allocating plots to successful applicants, who later formed the Avu Federal Housing Estate Neighbourhood Association. Many of the allottees have fully developed their plots, with some still in the process of construction.
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The residents recounted that during Governor Rochas Okorocha’s administration, several buildings were demolished under allegations that the estate was being used as a criminal hideout. This led to legal action by the allottees, resulting in two court orders from the Imo State High Court restraining the government from further trespass. Despite the court orders, Governor Okorocha allegedly continued to allocate plots to political associates and friends, even constructing new buildings for the police and correctional services on the disputed land.
Nwokenne further alleged that Okorocha’s associates, who received allocations in defiance of court orders, used law enforcement to intimidate and prosecute rightful allottees.
In response, the federal government, through the then-Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, reaffirmed its intent to retain control of the estate. The Judicial Commission of Inquiry on Lands and Related Matters, established by the Imo State government, also recommended the restoration of the land to its original allottees.
The association commended the current administration in Imo State for complying with the court’s judgment by demolishing structures erected during Okorocha’s tenure. However, they expressed disappointment upon learning that the demolition was to facilitate the construction of a new state government housing estate, raising concerns about the future of the federal government’s allottees, many of whom are senior citizens from Imo State.
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Nwokenne urged the state government not to further jeopardize the rights of the federal allottees, stating, “Will the present administration again dash the hopes of these allottees of the Federal Government who have suffered untold hardship and detention over the land legitimately allotted to them?”
Responding to the association’s statement, the Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation, and Strategy, Hon. Declan Emelumba, clarified that the court’s injunction was interim and reassured the public that the state government would not defy a court order.