Protest rocks Anambra community as family accuses Pentecostal Bishop of land grabbing, insists they’ll not sell their land to him

By Alphonsus Nweze, Onitsha

The Okwesi family of Awkuzu in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State has protested the incessant invasion and encouragement on their ancestral Nkpan land by Bishop Onyeka Ezekwesi who they alleged wants to take over the land by force.
Protesting at the land the family said the Pentecostal Bishop who is the Chief Executive of Officer (CEO) of Pinleaf Estate Developing Company had boasted that whether they like it or not he would take over the land, accusing him of having said that whatever it takes to suppress them and grab the expansive land he would do.
Speaking to newsmen during the protest one of the eldest man of the family, 74 year-old Chief Nwoye Okwesi said Bishop Nwoye had used his contacts and resources to bring various security operatives, including the military, the Police and recently the the Civil Defence men and hoodlums to harass and intimidate them so that he can compel them to succumb.
He said at a time Police from Force Headquarters came and arrested the thugs he brought to the land based on their report, five of them were found with five firearms, saying that the matter is still pending at Police Force Headquarters,Abuja.
He said the land belongs to the Okwesi family and they would sell it to who they want, stressing that Bishop Nzekwesi cannot force them to sell their land to him.
Also speaking the Chairman of Okwesi family, Chief Charles Okwesi said that Bishop Nzekwesi, has consistently used the police, military, and NSCDC to invade, intimidate and harass them in their own ancestral land.
“Some individuals wrongly sold Okwesi land to Pineleaf CEO without proper verification of genuine ownership. When Pineleaf discovered that he has paid to the wrong people, he approached us, real owners to sell the land to him but we refused because we have arrangements with another estate company and Pineleaf CEO vowed that he will take it by force since we refused to sell to him” he said.
Continuing Charles said: “On Wednesday, a team of NSCDC invaded the land, beat up my people working on the land and whisked away one of our local vigilante operatives. He was well tortured and released to die. He is now placed on danger list in the hospital. So today’s protest is to urge the the Inspector -General Of Police and heads of government security agencies in Anambra State not to release their men to Bishop Nzekwesi again since he uses them for illegal job, to invade our ancestral land, intimidate and harass us to submission”
He alleged that in the past Nzekwesi was using men of Rapid Response Squad (RRS), the disbanded Akwuzu SARS, “to arrest us on our land, accused us of being kidnappers and gunmen, just to gain control of the property we inherited from our ancestors,” he further told newsmen.
In his contribution Osita Okwesi, aged 65 said that they inherited the land from their ancestors and nobody, not even Bishop Nzekwesi can dispossess them of their inheritance.
He urged the Pentecostal Bishop to hands off from the land and stop using security men to harass and intimidate them.
But Bishop Nzekwesi had earlier denied the repeated allegations leveled against him by Okwesi family of trying to grab their land, saying instead that the Okwesi family was part of the land deal with him but they later turned around to use another family to make demands on him when he had already given them monetary settlement.
Bishop Nzekwesi added that he bought the land in question from three communities of Awkuzu, Ifitedunu and Umunya while he made sure he settled all concerned to avoid friction
“Surprisingly, Okwesi family who were part of the deal went behind to introduce another buyer into the property. They invaded the place with dangerous weapons, destroyed and looted things worth over N7 million but still I decided to let them go scot-free after police arrested and detained them.
He said drafting soldiers and other secure operatives from time to time to the land was to ensure security in the land.