Tenants suffer ejection as Army, lawyer tango over property in Enugu
ARIGHTS group, Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network ( CRRAN) has asked the Minister of Defence to intervene in the alleged threat by the Nigerian Army to forcefully dispossess Enugu lawyer, Nana Ogbodo, of his property, R/ 350, situated at old Abakaliki road. On Wednesday, armed soldiers had moved in, locked the entire premises, and left the occupants stranded.
President of CRRAN, Olu Omotayo, in the petition, said the Army in Enugu, in defiance to a letter from the office of the Chief of Army Staff saying the matter was being investigated, “decided to take law into their hands and supplant the rule of law with the rule of the jungle”. The Chief of Army Staff had, in a letter signed by Lieutenant Colonel D. Biambo, in response to contention over the property, assured that he had commenced investigation and would respond accordingly.
Recall that Ogbodo, after receiving approval and Certificate of Occupancy ( Cof O) from the Enugu State gov - ernment, had erected and fenced a bungalow on the property, which he allocated to tenants.
However, on May 1, last year, some soldiers walked into the compound and demanded to see its documents, in the guise that the property was among those the Army acquired.
Ogbodo had, on the same day ( May 1, 2023), furnished the General Officer Commanding the 82 Division, Enugu, with copies of his application for compensatory plot of land, the allocation letter, and Cofo from the Enugu State government.
Nothing was heard of the matter until April 30, 2024, when the General Officer
Commanding the 82 Division Enugu, through Major H. Y. Shehu, wrote to Ogbodo ( through his tenant on the property), and reminded him of the need to vacate the property, having exhausted the grace period allowed him.
The GOC’S letter read: “Despite your failure to honour the gentleman agreement reached, with regard to vacating the property, Headquarters 82 Division Nigerian Army has magnanimously granted you additional seven days ( commencing from the date this letter is signed) to vacate the property or face ejection.”
Lamenting the development and the need for observance of the rule of law, Omotayo said the “Army, in its civil transactions and relationships are bound by the law of the land.”
He said:“More worrisome is the fact that while the office of the Chief of Staff is looking into a matter, an officer of the rank of a Major is threatening to throw out a lawful occupant of the property.”