Anambra reviews 180 criminal cases linked to land disputes

The Anambra State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, has disclosed that about 180 criminal cases relating to land disputes have been submitted to the state Ministry of Justice for the Attorney-General’s review.

In a press statement released on Saturday, Nweke said those whose cases were undergoing review would be communicated soon on the outcome of the review.

Nweke said this was in response to agitations by some persons over the review of cases being prosecuted at their instance.

He insisted that there was no going back on the state government’s resolve to end the undue criminalisation of civil land disputes in the state.

This followed a public notice previously issued by the Attorney-General’s office inviting those who believed that their cases were civil in nature to submit complaints to the Attorney-General for review of the case files.

The statement read, “About 180 land-related criminal cases are currently being reviewed by the Anambra State’s Ministry of Justice.

“The ongoing review of criminal land cases follows a notice earlier issued by the Attorney General inviting those who are convinced that their criminal cases involving land disputes were civil in nature to submit a complaint to his office for review of the cases.

“We assure that those whose files are being reviewed will soon be notified of the outcome. In the meantime, those lingering criminal cases emanating from land disputes which are found to be civil will be discontinued so parties can proceed to civil courts.

“Those cases found to be criminal will be returned for prosecution. The ongoing review, is in line with the State Government’s determination to ensure that innocent citizens in Anambra are not unduly subjected to criminal prosecution.”

This, he said, affirmed the state government’s resolve to effectively put an end to the undue criminalisation of civil land disputes in Anambra State.

He also noted that the ministry was still receiving complaints on the criminalisation of land disputes and urged the general public to continue sending in their complaints.

The Attorney-General’s position came following calls by indigenes of Umuenu Quarters asking him to remain neutral in a land dispute case between Umuenu Quarters and Enugwu Quarters in Umuawulu, Awka South LGA of the state.

The Chairman of Umuenu Quarters, Bernneth Mbolu, made the call while briefing journalists at the premises of the High Court, shortly after the case was adjourned.

Mbolu said the parcel of land in contention had been in dispute since 1928, allegedly due to activities of land grabbers from the neighbouring Enugwu Quarters.

He said Umuenu people were painfully seeking redress in court, while also calling for the attention of the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, for urgent intervention, as the development was crippling both economic and commercial activities in the area.

He alleged that some land grabbers in the neighbouring community were working collaboratively with the state Attorney-General to forcefully seize their ancestral lands and render them homeless.