SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported the plan by the army to confiscate the property.
Some soldiers of the Nigerian Army have locked out schoolchildren and occupants of a property situated behind No.7, Abakaliki Lane, GRA belonging to Citizen Nana Ogbodo after claiming it was acquired during the 1967-1970 civil war.
SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported the plan by the army to confiscate the property.
SaharaReporters learnt that soldiers from the 82 Division led by one Okey Ayogu locked the gate of the property on Wednesday evening.
SaharaReporters reported on Wednesday that the Nigerian Army was planning to confiscate the property belonging to Mr Ogbodo, claiming that the military acquired it during the 1967 Nigerian-Biafra civil war as a booty.
It had reported that a civic group, the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN) wrote the Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru, appealing for his intervention.
CRRAN made the appeal in a petition to the minister on behalf of Ogbodo, which was copied to the Chief of Army Staff Nigerian Army, Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, and the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division Nigerian Army Enugu.
The petition dated May 6, 2024 is titled ‘Appeal for justice and urgent Intervention; Re: threat to forcefully and unlawfully take over a citizen’s property by the Army Authorities of the 82, Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu.’
Signed by the President of the organisation, Olu Omotayo Esq, the group explained that the army authorities had not shown any title document indicating that the property in question belonged to the military but only that the property was one of the properties captured by the army during the civil war.
In the petition, the group explained that the army authorities at the 82 Division, in defiance to the letter from the office of the Chief of Army Staff that the matter was under investigation by his office, decided to take the law into its hands and supplant the rule of law.
However, reacting to the report in a statement issued on Thursday, the Nigerian Army insists that the property belongs to it without providing any evidence.
The statement signed by the Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, is titled: "Nigerian Army Did Not Confiscate Property Of Enugu Resident, It Rightfully Belongs To The NA".
The statement partly reads: "The Nigerian Army (NA) has been notified of a viral petition written by the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN) alleging that 82 Division of the NA is threatening to forcefully and unlawfully take over a property situated at Plot 30, Abakaliki Road, Enugu, which includes No. 7 Abakaliki Lane in the Government Residential Area (GRA) of Enugu State.
"The NA wishes to state that the petition, which also posits that 82 Division, in defiance to a letter from the Office of the Chief of Army Staff decided to take the law into its hand and supplant the rule of law, is completely unfounded and intended to tarnish the ongoing efforts of the NA to restore peace and tranquility in the South East Region.
"It is therefore necessary to set the record straight in order not to mislead the public. The said property is the NA property that was last occupied by Col Emeka Ugwuoke Rtd during his service.
"The senior officer who was allocated the quarter during his service was removed therefrom by the NA in April 2023, when he tried to convert the quarter to his private property after his retirement. Surprisingly, it is on one corner of the property from where the NA ejected the retired senior officer that the trespassers invaded."
It added, "The NA is a disciplined institution that respects human rights and the rule of law. We urge the public to disregard the narrative that suggests the NA is acting unlawfully or without respect for due process."
According to Nwachukwu, "NA's position is that the property remains under its ownership, until proven otherwise through appropriate legal channels, and any claims to the contrary are based on misinformation”.
"Consequently, the NA calls for a thorough investigation and due process to resolve the matter, and it stands ready to present its evidence of ownership to the competent authorities.
"We also wish to reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and the proper resolution of this dispute in accordance with Nigerian legal standards and provisions."
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters obtained from the Enugu State Ministry of Lands a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) issued to Citizen Nana Ogbodo registered as No. 59 on Page 59 in Volume 418 of the Certificate of Occupancy Register in the Land Registry of Enugu State.
A document from the Nigerian Army shows the release of some properties to the Enugu State government in 2015. In the document, it said it was “holding the remaining 10 in Trust for Enugu State Government."
A handover letter dated May 20, 2015, with reference number 82DIV/G-4/100/76, obtained by SaharaReporters on Thursday is titled: "Handing Over Of 26 Enugu State Government Houses Occupied By Officers Of 82 Division."
The letter was addressed to the Commissioner for Lands in Enugu State Government and signed by one Col. S.O. Odufeko for GOC 82 Division of the Nigerian Army.
It partly read: "During the era of Military Regimes, successive Military Governors/ Administrators of Enugu State released temporarily 36 residential quarters within the Enugu metropolis to officers of 82 Division to alleviate the acute accommodation problem of the Division.
“However, with the return of the country to democratic rule in 1999, various Executive Governors of the State made efforts through successive General Officers Commanding 82 Division to recover these quarters, with promises to provide suitable accommodation facilities for the officers in Abakpa Barracks at the expense of the State Government.
"Consequently, in April 2008 the Enugu State Government through the letter ENS/SSG/M.330/III/330 dated 14 April 2008 requested for the release of 26 houses out of the 36 houses occupied by the Nigerian Army Officers in Enugu.
“The State Government also expressed their willingness to construct standard accommodation of 20 flats of 4 bedrooms in Abakpa Barracks in return for the 26 houses, while the remaining 10 houses still remains under the custody of the Division.
"Having completed the construction of the standard accommodation the officers in Abakpa Barracks by the State Government, I am, directed to forward at Annex A the list of 26 living quarters approved for release to the State Government by the Nigerian Army. I am further directed to request that you send your representatives to liaise with the undersigned officer with a view to taking possession of the 26 houses. Please, note that Annex B is the balance of the 10 living quarters to be retained by 82 Division.
"Please accept the assurances and esteemed regards of the General Officer Commanding."