Traders at Afor Oru Timber/Building Materials Market, Ahiazu, in Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, have staged a protest against the activities of a land grabber in the area.
At a protest march in the community recently, the traders alleged that the land grabber, Akachi Onyeneke, was using his profession as a lawyer to try to intimidate and dispossess genuine individual and community landowners.
The Ogbo oshishi traders called on the authorities of Mbaise Local Government Area and Imo State Government to intervene to check the shenanigans of the man.
The traders, who came out in their numbers, carried placards with different inscriptions, like, “We want peace and not violence,” “Oh God, deliver us from the evil plans of our enemies,” and “Barrister Akachi, Stop Intimidating Your People.”
Chairman of the market association, Leo Ibe, said about Akachi, “This man is notorious in this community. He encroaches on people’s lands at will, claiming he had bought them. This impunity must stop.”
One of the market leaders, Jeosophat Okoro, also said: “He even claims to have bought community spaces where markets had been held from time immemorial. Does an individual own a market?”
Chimobi Agbizu, also an official of the market, said the protest was to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the brewing crisis in the community to avoid an escalation.
Agbizu said: “Akachi is stoking a conflagration and the consequences are dire. The end result of this land grabbing enterprise being directed by Akachi will not do anyone any good.
“The Imo State government and Mbaise Local Government Area must intervene to save the people of Ahiazu from this developing crisis being stoked by one man. It is a needless crisis; one the authorities can nip in the bud.”
Afor Oru Ahiara Timber/Building Materials Market is a popular market where the people of Ahiazu and neighbouring communities as well as about nine local government areas in Imo State depend on for their timber and other building material needs.
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