Land Grabbers Kill Victim As Reign Of Terror Persists In Chokota
• Despite widespread concerns, land grabbers now kill and main their victims at will
By PHC Telegraph
The latest victim of a land grabbing attack in Igboh-Etche. The name of the late man was given as Goddy.
His lifeless form after persons believed to be land grabbers matcheted him again and again until he died.A group of land grabbers who have been terror-ising commun-ities in Igboh-Etche have match-eted a middle aged man to death.
The incident occurred at Umuakonu, Chokota in Igboh in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The man whose name was given to us as Goddy was violently attacked in the bush by suspected land grabbers, following a dispute over a piece of land that natives insist belongs to the family of the deceased.
A native who narrated how the incident happened painfully told this publication, the Port Harcourt Telegraph, “Our people perpetually live in fear of land grabbers. The lands left for us by our fathers have attracted land grabbers who are being aided by some of our own people to cause mayhem.
“They now operate brazenly and kill or main their victims at will, without any fear of retribution.”
Another source who gave his name as Ben remarked, “We are appealing to Governor Siminalayi Fubara to come to our rescue. Land grabbers are killing us.”
Igboh-Etche which is offering shelter to non indigenes from across Nigeria who live and do business in Port Harcourt has become a land grabbing hub where illicit drugs are sold and terror reigns.
Chima Njoku, Chairman of Etche Local Government Area.The Etche Local Government Council under the leadership of China Njoku had earlier set up a land grabbing committee to check the spread of the menace.
But Godday’s murder has proved it may take more than rhetoric on the part of a the local authority; efficient policing on the side of security agencies operating in Etche; vigilance and courage on the part of natives to deal with a ring of land grabbers whose unusual style of land acquisition is generating tension and creating fear and a feeling of insecurity.
Between last two years, no less than seven persons have lost their lives as a result of land grabbing related cases that are becoming intractable by the day. .
Meanwhile, operatives of the Rivers State Police Command charged with the task of fighting crime have swooped on two kidnapping suspects.
They were picked up at Igboh-Etche by investigators who have been on their trail.
From what we gather, while one of the arrested suspects hails from Ogoni, the other one is from Etche.
They are believed to have made useful statements to the police.