Armed Soldiers Eject Retired Army Colonel From House In Enugu

Armed soldiers from the 82 Division, Enugu, in the early hours of yesterday, invaded the residence of a former Coordinator, Joint Intelligence Fusion Cell Operation, Hadarim Daji, Zamfara State , Colonel Emeka Ugwuoke (rtd), and forcefully ejected him and his family.

The retired army officer was said to have traveled to Nsukka, his hometown, for the Easter celebrations, when over 40 armed soldiers invaded his residence at about 01:50 a.m. yesterday and threw his wife, children and property out of the apartment.

Addressing journalists on the development, Ugwuoke claimed that the state government had already allocated the said property to him. He said: “Sometimes in 2008, the Enugu State government wanted to take over the state property that Nigerian Army personnel were occupying and I am living in one of them. I wanted to benefit from it and the Division said I should meet my state government to see if they will give it to me.”

“I wrote several applications to the state government in 2013; the then governor, Sullivan Chime, approved my application. I couldn’t continue the process, because I was away until 2015. That was in a critical period when attention was drawn to politics only. When a new governor came, he said I should hold on, that there were series of committees to verify those things, which eventually ended and I was given papers of the apartment.

“My colleagues understood until 2020 when a certain GOC came around and told me that he wanted to use the place as a guest house, and now started claiming it belonged to Federal Government; but the matter was addressed and he left it. He set up series of committees that said the property belonged to Federal Government, but we know he was influencing them.”

However, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Thursday, described the report as misleading, stressing that the retired officer’s wife and children were not brutalised.

The army said, “House 7 on Abakaliki Lane is among Federal Government houses accommodating Nigerian Army officers in Enugu for over 2 decades. The house was allocated to Colonel Ugwoke (Rtd) then Major EL Ugwoke as his official residence, when he was posted to 82 Division Military Intelligence Brigade, then Intelligence Group as the Deputy Commander 82 Division Intelligence Group in 2007.

“The officer continued to occupy the house even after he was posted out of the division, sequel to his plea that his family be allowed to remain in Enugu for convenience, rather than moving them from place to place. It is however later discovered that the retired senior officer dubiously used the official letter head of his office on three different occasions to solicit the monetization of the house through some officials of the Enugu State Government.

“In 2020, when it was observed that the retired senior officer was attempting to wrongly appropriate to himself, the official quarters (House 7 on Abakaliki Lane) which was still the property of 82 Division Nigerian Army through the State Government, a committee was instituted by then General Officer Commanding (GOC) to ascertain the status of the said property and the committee made the following findings;

“That House 7 on Abakaliki Lane GRA Enugu situated on plot R/30B old GRA Enugu is among the Federal Government properties occupied by the Enugu State Government and other Federal Government Parastatals and Agencies after the civil war. This fact is corroborated by the search on the property from the Ministry of Lands and Urban Development which confirmed that there was no record of ownership of the property in its archive.

“House 7 on Abakaliki lane GRA Enugu State was among the houses handed over to 82 Division by past administrator to ameliorate the accommodation challenges of the Division.

“That the said property was not among 26 residential quarters officially handed over to the Enugu State Government in 2015.

“That there are no documents to confirm that the said property was sold or paid for by anyone. It is worthy of note that officers of the NA occupying institutionalized houses are expected to vacate such accommodation while on posting or retirement. However, the retired senior officer failed to comply knowing fully of the rippling effects on accommodation status of other posted in and serving officers.

“In the misleading publication, it was alleged that the retired senior officer’s wife and children were brutalised, which is outright falsehood aimed at whipping up undue sentiments. It must be stated unambiguously that the Nigerian Army is a discipline institution with utmost regard for the family institution and the vulnerable, particularly women and children.

“The scenario painted by the writer is therefore a facade and should be taken with a pinch of salt. The ejection process was audio visually documented, as it was envisaged that such allegation could arise. Emphatically, neither the wife nor children were brutalized and no property was damaged in the process of eviction.

“The retired senior officer’s belongings were simply transferred from the house in question to his personal house at number 127 Park Avenue, GRA Enugu to pave way for other serving officers to be accommodated. This was after serving the retired officer three previous official notices and several appeal for him to vacate the property after his retirement in 2021.”