The activities of land grabbers are now assuming a frightening dimension in Edo State, as hardly will a week past without major land related infractions in one or two of the communities in the state.
These ubiquitous land grabbers always masquerade the villages and communities, particularly in the Benin speaking area in the state, looking for undeveloped or underdeveloped lands to sell to unsuspecting buyers.
As a result of the seeming lucrative nature of their illegal business, the land thieves who go about armed to the teeth, are highly violent and brood no opposition.
These land thieves who are well organized in their illicit trade, have sent many people to their early graves, even as they go about destroying and burning houses or property of people who are bold enough to resist them.
The Reliance investigation revealed that because of the scarcity of land in most developed and developing communities, the land grabbers are able to make huge sums of money from the stolen land transactions.
It was further learnt that the land grabbers through their dubious trades have become very rich and thus could afford to bribe their way through the law enforcement agencies and the other related government authorities.
The alarming violent proportion with which they conduct their trade, have made many villagers and community dwellers who couldn’t match them fire for fire, to flee their villages or communities to other safe areas, including relocating abroad.
Only recently some people of Obagie and Ogheghe communities got their fair share of the atrocious behaviour of land grabbers, when they were visited with destruction and death in a failed defence of their landed property which a deadly gang of land grabbers and their cohorts allegedly sold to a Chinese company.
“The land in question belongs to many families in the community and it is very big but some people sold it without the knowledge of the genuine owners who were not even aware of the illegal land transactions until some Chinese people with earth moving equipment started to work on the land.
“The genuine owners of the land, especially one Osatohanmwen Nosakhare Ekienabor, frantically resisted the Chinese people who refused to let go, insisting that they have bought and paid in full for the disputed land.
“When the Chinese people noticed that they were fighting a losing battle, they invited the land grabbers who promptly responded with brute force, maiming, killing and burning houses.
“Some of the villagers were able to escape with their lives, including Mr. Osatohanmwen Nosakhare Ekienabor and members of his family, up till this very moment have not returned to the community because the land grabbers are still very much around, providing security for the Chinese people who bulldozed the farm lands to start their business”, Omoyemwen Obayantor, told The RELIANCE.
When our Crime Correspondent, sought the opinion of the state police command, its Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwanbuzor, he was said to be away on an important official engagement but a source close to his office, said the police were on top of the situation, noting that arrests were yet to be made.
The source, however expressed displeasure over the increasing cases of land grabbing in the state despite the anti-land grabbing law put in place by the state government.
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