Nworie/Nekede Sand Excavation Site: Owerri Youths Accuse State Government Contractor Of Victimization.

Nekede Sand Excavation Site

.Says Contractor Ordered Police Orderly Fire Gunshots.

Trouble is raging at Nworie/Nekede sand excavation site located along Nekede road, Owerri as a State government contractor, Macol Construction Company is at loggerheads with youths of Umuodu Umuihua  in  Owere Nchi Ise (Owerri municipal) in Imo State over the site.

The youths who are the original owners of the land are raising alarm alleging that the construction firm managed by one Onyekachi Elezianya has refused to obey Governor Rochas Okorocha’s order that both the youths and the contractor should cease from excavating sand in the area.

The youths further accused the construction firm of going against the governor’s directive by going ahead with the excavation of the sand and by their estimation; the construction firm handling several construction jobs for the state government have excavated over 500 tipper loads of sand which it has allegedly used to carry out many state government projects.

One of the youths who spoke to this online newspaper on condition of anonymity said the land belongs to them but they stopped digging the sand from the site to obey the governor’s directive. He expressed surprised that the contractor defied the governor’s directive and went ahead to continue digging the sand at the site.

According to him, when the youths confronted the contractor, he claimed no one has the right to stop him from digging and excavating sand from the site.  The youths said they complained to the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Uche Nwosu on the development but nothing came out of it.

“When we came to ask him (contractor) why he was digging and excavating sand from the site after the governor had stopped us and the contractor from digging, he ordered his police orderly to open fire on us. About 10 gunshots were fired by his police orderly on us” one of the youths stated.

 Spokesman of the Youths, Mr. Kelechi Ogazi said some of the youths were later arrested, detained and charged to court on the same day wondering why they should be victimized for no just cause. He claimed that the Court has also given an order that further action on the sand excavation site be stopped.

 Mr. Ogazi said it is strange that the contractor is still carrying out digging in the area despite the matter being in court.

“We obeyed the governor as the number one citizen of the state by stopping to dig from the site. What we now get is harassment and victimization over a land that belongs to our community. But the contractor who disobeyed is still digging the sand without paying us a dime for the loads of sand he is excavating from the site" Ogazi said. 

Efforts to speak to the contractor, Onyeakchi Elezianya to state his side of his story was futile as several efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.