The Chairman of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA), Chief Uche Anya, has denied that military officers from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, beat him up but that they attacked his residential building.
Anya disclosed this when some former members of the Enugu State House of Assembly led by Dr Alex Ogbonnia, visited him in his office yesterday – Wednesday, December 18 – in Enugu.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Anya debunked social media reports that he was manhandled and beaten up while his police aide was killed during the raid.
The chairman described what occurred as a face-off between ECTDA and army officers.
“Indeed, there was a face off between the government agency I head and the personnel of 82 Division of the Nigerian Army while discharging my duties.
“I am very fine, hale and hearty,” Anya said.
Narrating what transpired, Anya said that on Dec. 5, the organisation got a report from one of its units that a development was going on somewhere at Park Avenue, GRA.
The chairman said that when they requested for approval from the developers, they got no response.
He said the unit reported that the area was guarded by soldiers, so they decided to visit the site to see what was happening.
Anya said that they discovered that people were trying to erect a fence.
“We pleaded with them that we are from the ECTDA and needed to see their approved plan and permit but they asked me to call the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Enugu.
“We insisted on seeing their approval, which they did not provide, leading to our stopping them from working and marking the place with ‘Stop Work’ notice immediately.”
He said that he thereafter reached out to the GOC and informed him about what transpired.
Anya said he was told that they were trying to secure their land.
“I told him that under our law, once a development is taking place in the capital territory, there must be permission.
“So, three days later, in the course of our routine work, we discovered that they had wiped out our stop work order and proceeded with the work.
“We rolled down our equipment and pulled down the fence because they reneged on our agreement,” he said.
Anya said that two hours later, he started noticing strange movement around his street, with some people taking photographs.
“So, around 2:30a.m, two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) arrived on my street. Some people in mufti with guns jumped into my compound and I was seeing them through my CCTV.
“They tried to break into the house but it took them almost 90 minutes to break in through the kitchen.
“Somehow, the Social Media added pepper and salt to what transpired,” he said.
While commending his former House of Assembly members for the visit, Anya said the matter had been resolved.
Earlier, Ogbonnia said they were touched by the information reaching them as well as what they read on social media and felt that they should come and visit Anya as a former legislator.
“Anya is one of us. We know his pedigree. He is a meticulous man; a lawyer, former lawmaker, and a law abiding person who can not act arbitrarily.
“It is therefore irresponsible for any government to ignore the outright defacement of Enugu based on elite status,” he said.
Ogbonnia said that, in democracy, no person or group should undermine a constituted authority.
“Enugu is what it is today because of what ECTDA is doing through their urban planning. Unfortunately, most Nigerians don’t observe urban planning.
“What Anya did is to add value to the beauty of Enugu by making sure that illegal structures are not allowed in the city
“We want to use the opportunity to thank God for you and to tell the world that we hold you in a very high esteem,” Ogbonnia said.
