A hotel owner, Malachy Chukwu, allegedly committed suicide after discovering that his property had been demolished by suspected youths from the Ifite-Nteje community in Oyi Local Government Area.
According to sources, he took his life after finding out about the demolition.
Following the incident, members of the Divine Heaven Amalgamated Landlords Association in Ifite-Nteje staged a protest.
The protesters, including both men and women, claimed that numerous buildings, including a hotel on Chinua Achebe Airport Road worth billions of naira, were destroyed by individuals claiming to be the executive members of the Ifite-Nteje Development Union.
Chairman of the aggrieved residents, Chief Patrick Maduegbuna, appealed to Governor Charles Soludo to intervene to prevent a total breakdown of law and order.
The association’s Secretary, Mr. Nwako Maduka, said the landlords had paid all required dues, and the documents were signed by the same people now allegedly trying to revoke the land they had genuinely purchased.
Chief Ikechukwu Erikeife, chairman of the Ifite-Nteje Land Management Committee, explained that some young men who had sold their plots were attempting to sell the same land a second time, noting that land grabbing to make money at all costs was causing the confusion in Ifite-Nteje.
It was gathered that about 70 associations had acquired the vast land occupying a strategic position along the airport road, with most of the buildings destroyed at various stages of completion.
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