The security situation in the Otulu community, Aniocha South Local Government Area, Delta State, has reached a critical point as desperate residents appeal to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for urgent intervention to protect their lives against land-grabbers.
The appeal was contained in a statement signed by MrChukwumaNkwuka on behalf of the United and Concerned Indigenes of Otulu Community which was issued to newsmen during a peaceful demonstration in Asaba, the state capital.
During the protests, MrNkwuka alleged continued intimidation and harassment by the Ogwashi-Uku community which has led to the killing of several of their kinsmen including one Mr William Eboji.
‘’We, the law-abiding citizens of Otulu Community have been pushed to the wall by the terror groups and their sponsors, leaving us with the only option of taking up arms to defend ourselves. But we do not want a repeat of the Okuama tragedy.
‘’We have prepared and dispatched letters to the United Nations Office in Abuja, New York, EU, ECOWAS, ICJ, at the Netherlands as well as comprehensive letters to the Senate President in Abuja, US Senate President, and all human rights bodies in Nigeria and the US. We will be forced to make this matter a nationwide protest if our demands are not met after seven days’’ Nkwuka said.
They recalled that the state government, through the Deputy Governor, Sir Monday Onyeme had directed that the sale of lands in disputed boundary areas should stop pending the outcome of an investigative panel to address such matters.
‘’To our surprise, the Ogwashi-Uku monarch has bluntly defied the state government’s order and has continued to forcefully sell lands in Otulu. His action is causing tension which can result in a breakdown of law and order in the community.
‘’For generations, our people have lived on these lands, cultivated it for food having inherited them from our forefathers. This is our heritage and identity. It is our very existence. With impunity, the Ogwashi-Uku monarch has seized our lands, sometimes using earth-moving machines to destroy expanses of farmlands, crops and economic trees’’ they alleged.
