The Orlu Autonomous Community has taken legal action against the Imo State Government and the Catholic Diocese of Orlu, alleging the forceful acquisition and continued occupation of their ancestral land.

In a suit filed at a High Court, the community, through their legal representative, N.O. Chukwuezi, stated that the land in question was initially donated to Irish missionaries for the establishment of Bishop Shanahan College (BSC), Orlu.

The community further explained that they later permitted the missionaries to temporarily use another parcel of land opposite the college to train teachers. However, they clarified that this second piece of land was never permanently donated, but loaned under the condition that rent would be paid annually through their traditional rulers.

According to the plaintiffs, rent payments continued until the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967, which disrupted the school?s operations. Post-war, in 1970, the 24 Battalion of the Nigerian Army occupied the premises, and in 1973, the then East Central State Government took over the management of the college.

The land later served various educational purposes under successive state administrations. It was converted into a campus of Alvan Ikoku College of Education, then a Technical Skills Acquisition Centre (TESAC), later renamed Technical Skills Acquisition Institute (TESAI), and most recently used as a campus of the Imo State Polytechnic?until it was moved to Omuma, Oru East LGA, by the current administration.

The community claims that the government, over time, expanded the school by annexing additional portions of their land and constructing perimeter fencing without their consent.

As a result, they are seeking a perpetual injunction from the court to restrain both the Imo State Government and the Catholic Diocese of Orlu from any further occupation or development on the disputed land.

The case is expected to test the boundaries of historical land agreements, government authority, and religious institutional claims in the region. (Vanguard)

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