Enugu Community Threatens Mass Suicide If State Government Takes Their Land

Ngwuagu community in Abor, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State have warned that there may be mass suicide in the community, if the state government proceed to acquire their ancestral land.

In a passionate letter sent to the state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the community said the acquisition of the land known as Uzami Ngwuagu would amount to the “government signing death warrants of members of the community.”

The community said it heard of government’s intention for the said land from the state Commissioner for Lands, Mr. Solomon Onah, during a meeting he (the commissioner) summoned the town union executives to on February 2, 2018.

They mentioned that the commissioner refused to disclose what the government intended to do with the land, but only stated that the acquisition was for overriding public interest.

The representatives of the community explained to him that the land was the only land they inherited from their forefathers and have been living in and farming there since time immemorial. They further informed the commissioner that the land had “been parcelated and shared to families in the community,” stressing that over “200 buildings have already been erected on the land.”