… as 62 people accuse him of destruction of properties, intimidation
AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Capital City Development, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, has boycotted a summon by a Committee of the State House of Assembly.
The state lawmakers had summoned the Commissioner following outcry of many residents over alleged intimidations and illegal destruction of their properties at various parts of the state.
Consequently, during sitting of the 5-man Ad-hoc Committee headed by Chinwe Nwachukwu, member representing Ohaozara East Constituency, recently, about 62 people, indigenes and non-indigenes of the state, accused the Commissioner of destroying their means of livelihoods, buildings and many more.
The aggrieved persons, who were seen earlier in protest with placards, blocked the main entrance of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly to vent their grievances.
They called on the lawmakers to probe the Commissioner and get justice for them to serve as deterrent to other political office holders.
One of the protesters, Thomas Nwaoginyi, a civil servant, recounted how his building worth eight million naira was demolished by a team led by Nwaebonyi.
“I started the building of my demolished house in 2013. Since then I have been living on loan, because I am civil servant, from loan to loan, hoping that after the building my family would come and settle there. On 11th of June, when I returned from work, I met my children crying and my wife was about to die, I asked what happened and they said our house had been destroyed by Onyekachi Nwaebonyi and his thugs,” he said.
Also, Uko Helen Idam, recounted that her building was approved by the Abakaliki Capital Territory Development Board in 2015. The Board also monitored the construction but she lamented that the Commissioner demanded her to pay him the sum of five hundred thousand naira or risk losing the property to demolition.
Idam, said she paid the sum of two hundred thousand naira, regrettably the Commissioner later destroyed her building and threatened her with a pistol despite the payment.
The protesters took turns to recount their ordeals to the 5-man Committee of the ESHA and demanded reconstruction of their buildings, adequate compensation for their destroyed wares and repair of their cars respectively.
The Committee chairman sympathised with the victims and pledged the Committee’s resolve to handle the matters appropriately in line with dictates of the law.
Speaking with the state Coordinator of National Human Rights Commission in Abakaliki, Christopher Okorie, via a telephone interview, he told our Correspondent that none of such cases had been reported to the Commission.
He said, “As soon as we get any complaint or complaints regarding the above subject matter, we will diligently investigate it/them and take the necessary actions in line with the mandate of the Commission.”
Meanwhile, efforts to reach the Commissioner for comments were not successful as of the time of this report.
