The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), South East Zone, has appealed to Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to call the management of Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) to order over their callous and insensitive actions to the members of the public in Enugu State.

The rights group had on March 12, 2020 issued a statement over the same subject matter titled: ‘Enugu Demolitions: CLO Calls for Caution’.

In the said statement, the CLO pointed out several complaints from the public over the brazen human rights violations, selective application of actions, and outrageous levies collection among other excesses of the ECTDA.

The rights group said it had expected far-reaching actions of the government in addressing some of the anomalies pointed out but none has happened till now.

To prove its position, the CLO lamented that despite its protest letter, the ECTDA in another emboldened move towards putting a negative blight on the Ugwuanyi administration, went on an overdrive on Wednesday April 02, 2020.

Said the rights group: “At a time the whole world is experiencing a global crisis over the COVID-19 pandemic with families and residents all in apprehension and also bemoaning the lockdown measures put in place by various state governments, ECTDA choose to strike.”

According to the group, information at its disposal showed that the ECTDA officials had gone to Poly Clinic, Asata Enugu where they demolished a petrol filling station under construction for violating the city plan and building on a water channel.

“After carrying out the demolition exercise, they crossed over to the other side of the road where some buildings, a school and some shops were located and discovered that the structures were also on water channels and gave the occupants two hours to quit or face demolition.

“Sources at the scene said the residents engaged them and the oga told them that the quit notice has been extended to 24 hours. This was happening at a time when some of the occupants in the area were in their villages observing the restriction order over the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Surprisingly, the ECTDA officials really showed up with their bulldozers the next day and descended on the structures and reduced them to the rubbles. Not even cries of the occupants to save them from the double tragedy of throwing them into the streets unprepared at a time when everybody were ordered to stay at home could melt the heart of the ECTDA officials.

“The affected occupants of the area had their properties destroyed by the ECTDA officials amidst wailings, gnashing of teeth and invocation of curses,” CLO said in the statement signed its South East Zone Chairman, Comrade Aloysius Attah.

It observed that images and videos of the traumatised victims and the damages have since gone viral while the BBC Correspondent was live at the scene even as people in their thousands poured all manner of invectives against the government action following the comment thread from the live streaming.

“It has become crystal clear that ECTDA is bent on bringing the government of Enugu State into public odium and disrepute by their actions which are far from being altruistic and positive intentioned.

“For us in the CLO, the latest action by ECTDA is ill-timed, insensitive, callous and unacceptable and we condemn it in entirety.

“We wish to remind the Governor again as we stated in our previous statement over this ECTDA actions, that it is of prime importance to protect the interest of the masses at all times in any government action in Enugu state because of the unprecedented input legitimacy which the mandate enjoys in the south east. That unprecedented goodwill should not be traded for anything.

“Let the government call ECTDA to order. It is time for a new code of conduct that will guide their operations henceforth while government should find a means to address their excesses already through palliative measures,” CLO reiterated.

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