Hundreds of Ugbo Okonkwo residents including widows and children, Friday, staged a peaceful protest against plans by Enugu State Government to demolish their houses in the area which it designated as a slum.
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The protesters including several widows and children marched through the Upper Chime dual carriageway displaying several placards, weeping and praying for God’s divine intervention in their plight.
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Some of their placards read: “No slum in Ugbo Okonkwo, we acquire our land legitimately”, “No government has told us that we live in a slum”, “We are law-abiding citizens, we deserve a home”, “Your Excellency, we like the good work you are doing in Enugu State. Help us by stopping this demolition, give us time to develop our land”, “We have our title documents, we are not illegal occupants”, “The Lord is our shepherd” and “It is inhuman to evict us from the land we have occupied for over 100 years.”
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The officials of Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, had on January 30 served the property owners and residents of Ugbo Okonkwo notice to remove their property within seven days after which the houses, which were allegedly built without government’s approval, would be demolished.
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