By Emmanuel Agbo, Abakaliki.
The Executive Chairman of Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Chief Chidiebere Onyemaechi Alo, has intervened in a lingering land dispute involving the leadership of Ndiogbu Okpuitumo Village in Amegu Community and a group of men and youths from the area.
Alo, who waded into the dispute with a view to resolving the underlying issues and restoring peace, also directed an immediate halt to the sale and allocation of lands belonging to the village pending the resolution of the controversy.
The council chairman gave the directive on Saturday during a stakeholders’ meeting he convened at the council headquarters in Nkaliki, Abakaliki, where the contending parties, traditional rulers and other stakeholders deliberated on the dispute and sought to establish its root causes.
The intervention followed a disagreement between the village leadership, led by Mr Emmanuel Nkwuda Alike, and a group led by Mr Ogbonna Pius, over the management, sale and allocation of village lands.
The matter, it was gathered, had already been taken before an Abakaliki Magistrates’ Court by Ogbonna and his group, although the case had yet to be determined.
The group had reportedly accused the village leadership of indiscriminate sale and allocation of communal lands to individuals, including an alleged allocation involving an eight-year-old boy.
The village leadership, however, dismissed the allegations, maintaining its position on the management of the disputed lands.
Addressing the parties after extensive deliberations, Alo expressed concern that the dispute had been taken to court before his office was given an opportunity to intervene.
He directed the litigants to inform their lawyers that the local government had taken up the matter and was seeking an amicable resolution.
He said, “When you go to court, both of you should tell your lawyers that the matter is before the local government area and the council is going to resolve it amicably.
“From today, nobody should sell any land that belongs to the village. If you want to sell land, go and sell your own. If there is further crisis, I will arrest all of you whose names are here.”
To ensure compliance with the directive, the council chairman nominated four persons, including a barrister, to accompany the parties to court on the date fixed for the matter and facilitate the implementation of his directive.
The chairman also warned the parties against actions capable of escalating tensions in the community, stressing that the local government administration would not tolerate activities capable of undermining peace and security.
Alo urged the contending parties to sheath their swords and embrace dialogue, saying that the administration of Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru was committed to maintaining peace across Izzi clan and the state.
He appealed to the villagers to support the governor’s peace initiatives, noting that sustainable development could not thrive in an atmosphere of rancour, hostility and communal disputes.
The council boss further warned that any attempt to reignite the crisis would attract decisive action from the local government, including the arrest of persons found to be responsible for further disturbances.
Responding separately, the leaders of the contending groups, Ogbonna Pius and Emmanuel Nkwuda Alike, thanked the council chairman for his intervention and pledged to comply with his directives in the interest of peace, unity and development in Ndiogbu Okpuitumo Village.
The intervention comes against the backdrop of wider efforts by authorities in Ebonyi State to address land-related disputes through dialogue and administrative mechanisms, with previous state interventions involving disputed boundaries and communal lands.
