Residents of Umuigbo Amurri community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State have staged a peaceful protest over what they describe as the unauthorised takeover of their ancestral land for a government-backed smart farming initiative.
The protest, which drew hundreds of women, youths, and elders, saw demonstrators marching with placards and green leaves, rejecting what they called a forced occupation of residential land without proper consultation. The disputed land, they say, was never offered for the project and lies close to existing homes and farms.
Community leaders insisted they had already allocated a more suitable area — over 1,000 hectares of farmland — to support the state’s agricultural development goals. They expressed support for the government’s vision but said their input was ignored when bulldozers began clearing crops near residential zones.
Some residents claimed security operatives were deployed to arrest individuals who resisted the land clearing, leading to the detention of several community members. They also accused local officials of intimidation.
The community is calling on the state government to intervene, urging that the proposed smart farm be relocated to the previously designated farmland. They warned that further encroachment could lead to unrest and insisted that the integrity of their residential layout must be preserved.
Local authorities, however, maintain that the land was voluntarily donated by traditional leaders and that the project is intended to benefit the community. They urged residents to embrace the development, stating the area had long been unused and vulnerable to external threats.
