(DDM) – Landowners and stakeholders in communities earmarked for the proposed Abia Airport in Nsulu, Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, have raised strong objections against indemnity forms being imposed by the state government.
According to the stakeholders, the forms appear to force landowners to mortgage not only their own interests but also the future of their descendants.
They argued that the forms are overly broad and ambiguous, leaving landowners vulnerable and without adequate safeguards for their property rights.
The Abia State government had scheduled compensation hearings and land acquisition exercises for several communities. However, stakeholders contend that many of these communities are not directly affected by the airport project.
They also noted that unresolved land disputes remain, and outstanding land issues have yet to be settled with the communities concerned.
Critics of the government’s approach highlighted that the total land requirement for the airport has not been clearly communicated to the landowners.
Moreover, the criteria for compensating landowners, as well as for valuing economic trees and crops, have not been transparently defined.
Several ongoing legal proceedings complicate the situation further.
Cases are pending before the Abia State High Court in Okpualangwa and the Court of Appeal in Abuja. Stakeholders allege that the state government has ignored a High Court order directing it to halt further actions on the disputed land.
Concerns have also been raised about allegedly inflated compensation lists.
In certain communities, these lists reportedly include fictitious names, inflating the number of landowners and potentially reducing entitlements for genuine claimants.
Stakeholders have petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) over these issues, and are awaiting responses.
Despite Governor Alex Otti’s assertion that the government’s focus is primarily on the runway, communities far from the runway have reportedly been pressured and threatened to sign the indemnity forms.
The forms, as currently structured, do not specify the amount of land owned by individuals or the value of economic trees and crops on the land.
One community cited a compensation list containing nearly 2,000 names, despite there being only about 200 actual landowners, many of whom are unknown to residents. Stakeholders describe this as a deliberate attempt at land grabbing and a means to deny rightful entitlements to genuine landowners.
The stakeholders emphasized that they are not opposed to the airport project itself but insist that it should not render communities destitute or landless.
They argued that compensation alone cannot replace the irreplaceable land needed for farming, housing, and the future growth of their communities.
Finally, they appealed to citizens across Nigeria to oppose what they view as an unjust seizure of land.
They warned that allowing such actions to proceed unchecked could have severe consequences for the affected communities and their long-term survival.
The issue highlights the tension between developmental projects and the protection of citizens’ property rights, underscoring the need for transparency, legal compliance, and fair compensation in large-scale infrastructure initiatives.
