Recover public cemeteries in Onitsha now-CD/HURIDE tell Governor Soludo

By Alphonsus Nweze, Onitsha

The Campaign for Democracy (CD) and Human Rights, Liberty Access and Peace Defender’s Foundation (HURDE), have called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to as a matter urgent importance recover all public cemeteries taken over by individuals land grabbers and organisations in Onitsha and environs.
In a press statement issued in Awka, Anambra State, the chairman of CD in South East and Executive Director, HURIDE, High Chief Uzor A Uzor, lamented that there is no public cemeteries in Onitsha and environs again as they have been sold and converted to individual use by some churches and land grabbers.
“There is no place to bury the dead Onitsha now. The ones in Oraifite Street,Awada Obosi in Idemili North Local Government Area and New Cemetery Road in Odoakpu, Onitsha have been sold out to different organisations including churches” said High Chief Uzor.
He said the only cemetery currently existing in Onitsha is the one owned by the Moslem community in the commercial city along Modebe Avenue.
High Chief Uzor called on the Anambra State Governor to as a matter of urgency recover all those cemeteries so that there would be a place to bury the dead in Onitsha and environs.
“There should be a place for people to bury their dead in Onitsha and environs. All those cemeteries taken over and converted to individual use like the one in Oraifite Street Awada, Obosi and New Cemetery Road, where private buildings, Chuches and residential houses are springing up should be recovered with immediate effect by the Anambra State Government,” High Chief Uzor said.
He lamented that some of these cemeteries have been taken over by the two major churches in the state, the Roman Catholic and the Anglican church, especially that of Old Cemetery Road in Onitsha.
Governments, he said, should activate all the instruments in her disposal with the Local Governments to move into action immediately
High Chief Uzor said: “It is very disheartening that parts of the cemeteries have been taken over by churches.Those cemeteries should be recovered with immediate effect”.
He asked Government to eschew sentiment and have the political will to do what is right and that is revoking all the buildings, churches and recover the cemeteries now.