Delta: Land grabbers accused of illegal demolition

The managing director of a real estate firm in Okpanam community, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, Iyke Dike, has alleged that no fewer than 30 personnel from security agencies in the state collaborated with land grabbers to demolish a property owned by his company. The armed policemen and the landgrabbers, who were […]

The managing director of a real estate firm in Okpanam community, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, Iyke Dike, has alleged that no fewer than 30 personnel from security agencies in the state collaborated with land grabbers to demolish a property owned by his company.

The armed policemen and the landgrabbers, who were said to be acting on the order of a landgrabber were said to have invaded the premises with bulldozers around 1 a.m. to embark on the unauthorised demolition.

Briefing journalists, Dike said the landgrabbers had been demolishing property at odd hours in the estate without leaving any traces, adding that luck ran out of them during the last operation in the early hours of Tuesday, July 23.

The realtor said, “For some months now, we have been experiencing some ugly experiences of people pulling down fences and gatehouses of buildings on our estate in Asaba at midnight, and there have been no traces.

“All this time, the police have been handicapped because there is no evidence to prove anything. As God will have it, on Tuesday, July 23, around 1 a.m., an unknown number called me. I didn’t pick up the call because I was tired. I felt it was one of my marketers calling at odd hours.

“The call became very persistent around 3 a.m., and at a point, my engineer called me. I prayed and was about to call him back when my staff members started knocking at my door. I opened the door, and they said people were already breaking down the fence of my estate.”

Dike said before going to the scene, he went to carry policemen of the special protection unit assigned to him and also informed members of the community where the estate is located and the Divisional Police Officer, Okpanam Division about the incident.

He said, “When I got to the site with my assigned policemen, I was amazed to see a troop of armed policemen with over 10 police vans, two Toyota Hilux vehicles, and two bulldozers pulling out. We got out of the car and started asking who sent them but they ignored all of us.

“Observing a gap between those driving the Hilux and the policemen that came with the landgrabbers for the demolition, we stopped the Hilux vehicles and demanded who sent them. The policemen assigned to me even approached their colleagues to speak with them so they could listen to me.

“All of a sudden, one of the policemen that accompanied the landgrabbers cocked his gun, shot one of the tyres of my vehicle and also shot one of the policemen attached to the SPU assigned to me that was appealing to them to listen to me.”

The realtor said things were about to escalate when some community members stormed the scene and joined them in demanding who sent them to demolish his property.

He said, “When the policemen observed that they were outnumbered, they ran away, but we apprehended three. One of the operators of the bulldozers jumped down and also ran away, but we caught the other operator. We also apprehended one of the persons who drove the Hilux.

“The DPO met us there, and when we asked who sent them, one of them, precisely the one that drove the Hilux, said it was a landgrabber who owns a popular hotel in Asaba. Different weapons were also found inside the vehicles recovered from the suspects.

“When the state commissioner of police was informed, he said the matter should be transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department, where the matter is being handled.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Edafe Bright, when contacted, said he would do his findings and revert but had yet to do so as of the time this report was filed.