Akwa Ibom Women To Stage Unclad Protest If Govt Confiscates Their Land

Uyo, Akwa Ibom state — Women of Enniong Offot, Offot clan in Uyo have protested possible confiscation of their land by authorities. They have threatened to begin a unclad protest should the government insist on taking their land away.



The women joined the youth of the area and took to the streets. They carried placards with various inscriptions and appealed to the state government to come to their aid by ensuring that the remaining parcels of land were not taken away.
The development follows a brewing crisis between Akwa Ibom State Government and the people of Urua Ntia village, in Eniong Offot community in Uyo Local Government Area of the state, over the alleged encroachment of community land by the state government.
The villagers allege fraudulent action by some government officials attached to the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning. According to them, ministry officials are fond of moving in and out of their community to allot and sell parcels of land to people, claiming that land in Eniong had been taken over by the state government.
Spokesman for the community, Mr Patrick Edet, warned the ministry officials to stop trespassing on their land as the land’s right of occupancy was not revoked in year 2000 as claimed by Ministry of Lands recently in a report published in newspapers.
The state government had, last week, described as fraudulent and criminal, the re-occupation of land by former owners after collecting compensation.
Commissioner for Lands and Town Planning, Obong Eno Akpan, said the expiration of the tenure of the government that acquired and paid compensation for the land did not mean the end of government.
Source: Vanguard