The management of Marlum Nigeria Limited situated at #155 Aka road in Uyo metropolis has been given a 21 day ultimatum to pay compensation to owners of plots of land the company desecrated at Ifa Ikot Akpan, Etoi community in Uyo Local Government Area since 2012.
The Village Head of the area, Eteidung Eniedi Ebong gave the ultimatum while speaking with our reporter in his Palace last week.
The royal father disclosed that Marlum Nigeria Limited through a man simply known as Engineer Umoren and a woman who is a resident in the area, Mrs. Arit Effiong Okon sometimes in 2012 approached the owners of the plots of land in the area to negotiate the purchase of the land.
He disclosed further that after the negotiation, an agreed sum was reached by both parties for the purchase of the over ten plots of land which was situated along Airport road in Ifa Ikot Akpan in Etoi, Uyo.
The village head said that it was later discovered that Mrs. Arit Effiong Okon had collected the total sum for the purchase of the land from Marlum Nigeria Limited but only paid for a bit part of the land and absconded with the chunk of the money when caterpillars drove into the land and uprooted vegetation and cassava planted on it.
Speaking further, the village head informed that the owners of the land had promptly challenged the intruders on sighting caterpillars destroying their plantation but that the intruders had claimed that the company had paid for the land to Mrs. Arit Okon.
Sensing foul play, the village placed a traditional injunction, Ayei on the land pending when the matter of payment would be resolved by concerned parties.
The company in its efforts to claim the land had invited the police from B Division in Ewet Housing Estate, to wade into the matter. But the Police authorities told the company management that they should go and settle the matter at the community level and a date was fixed for the owners of the said land and the facilitators for Marlum Nigeria Limited to meet at the Palace of the village head.
On the date of the meeting, all parties including the point man for the company, Engr. Umoren was present but the absence of Mrs. Arit Okon, also known as Eka Esther frustrated the meeting because she was the one that collected the money for the purchase of the land from the company, according to the Royal father.
At this stage, it was suspected that the woman had absconded with the money as her whereabouts till date is unknown even as several attempts to locate her are not yielding fruits.
Eteidung Eniedi Ebong hinted that the company through Engr. Umoren had pleaded for time to resolve the matter but that their patience had since waned.
The Village head stated categorically “we have waited for a long time while the owners of this land suffer especially as their crops were destroyed by the company caterpillar. Over #800,000 worth of food crops was destroyed”.
He said further that he is using this medium to give Marlum Nigeria Limited 21 days to explain why the company should violate the community’s landed properties and destroy their means of livelihood and had even refused to come and pay compensation to the individual owners of the desecrated land which cannot grow crops anymore.
The royal father maintained that Marlum Nigeria Limited has rendered the land fruitless and therefore should pay for the years that have been lost due to their activities on the land as failure to comply to this directive by the company will allow the village no other option than to take necessary action deemed fit on the matter.
The management of Marlum Nigeria could not be reached for comments on this matter as at the time of filing this report. All efforts to get in touch with them yielded no fruits.
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