By Shadrach Okon
Representatives of Nung Ndoko Family have cried out to Governor Umo Eno over the destruction of their landed property and forceful ejection from their ancestral land at Ikot Inyang, along Uyo Village Road, by Akwa Ibom State Government.
The Nung Ndoko family members staged a peaceful protest yesterday, Tuesday, 10 July, at Uyo Village Road, Uyo. The people lamented that their stretch of land along Uyo Village Road has been trespassed with their landed property damaged by Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Environment without due compensation to the people whose ancestral homes and other landed property were affected.
The people in a letter of appeal written to Governor Umo Eno and made available to newsmen stated that the stretch of land along Uyo Village Road has been the exclusive possession of Nung Ndoko Family and called on government to duly compensate them for their damaged land and landed property.
“Part of the letter read: We are the representatives of Nung Ndoko Family of Uyo Village, holders of the deemed grant of customary right of occupancy over Ikot Inyang Stretch of land along Uyo Village Road, as envisaged by section 36(2) of the land use Act, cap L5, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. From time immemorial our forebears have been in exclusive possession of the span of land to which this letter pertains, until the incident the subject of this complaint.”
Nung Ndoko Family in their letter further claimed ownership of the land hosting Uyo Local Government Council and most government institutions at Wellington Bassey Road and emphasized that the stretch of land known as Ikot Inyang stretch of land situated along Uyo Village Road was part of their ancestral homes.
The representatives of Nung Ndoko Family in their letter described as shocking, demoralizing and highly provocating for Ministry of Works and Fire Service to grant contractors the permission to trespass their land and destroy their economic trees.
The letter further read: “It is therefore shocking, demoralizing and highly provocating to notice with dismay that the government of Akwa Ibom State, through the Ministry of Works and Fire Service, has seized this remaining land and grant contractors, (Government Agents) permission to trespass thereon bull-doze the said span of land, destroying in it’s wake shrines, ancient tombs, medicinal herbs, crops and trees including oil palm trees, cashews, cassava, fluted pumpkin, lemon grass, Indian Bamboo, staking sticks, Afang etc, and all these without any reference to the owner of the land(Nung Ndoko family)”
The letter was signed Mr Ekong Udo the Chairman of Nung Ndoko Family and Mr Inyang Godson, the family Secretary.
In his separate reaction, Mr John Sam Inyang a member of Nung Ndoko Family in Uyo, recalled with nostalgia that the trespassed land forms part of their ancestral homes and heritage which served as a source of livelihood to Nung Ndoko people whose main occupation has been farming from time immemorial.
“This is the land we had many palm trees, that was what our fathers used to sponsor me in school. As at then, I was a pupil of Christ the King Primary School Wellington Bassey, Uyo. Our fathers had made an injunction that we should not sell this land to any body, this is where our fathers were buried. As I am talking, four people have already died and are yet to be buried because of this land. We don’t need anymore trespass on our land after this road construction,” John Sam Inyang said.”
Also speaking, the women leader of Nung Ndoko Family, Madam Neru Sunday Sam, had this to say: “I am a member of Nung Ndoko family, I have been cultivating this land since 1970. Since Governor Umo Eno has decided to construct road across our land, we cannot stop him, all we want from him is due compensation for our damaged landed property.”
