‘We are ready to die in our home’: Imo family vows to defend ancestral land amid alleged government invasion

The Nkwazema family in Nekede, Owerri West LGA, Imo State, accuses government officials, including Special Adviser Nze Chinasa Nwaneri, of invading its ancestral land with armed men, demolishing homes and evicting residents. Felix Uchenna Ihemeze Nkwazema says the property, which includes more than ten plots and residential houses, has belonged to the family since at least 1943, according to survey documents, and that the family received no notice or compensation. The family also alleges that one of its members was arrested and that gunfire forced residents to flee, and says it will pursue every legal avenue. It has urged Governor Hope Uzodinma, police and other authorities to intervene; Nwaneri did not respond to the newspaper’s attempts to reach him.