Groups urge Soludo to recover all stolen  public cemeteries in Onitsha

By Cyprian Ebele, Onitsha

Two human right organizations,  Campaign for Democracy (CD) and Human Rights Liberty Access and Peace  Defender’s Foundation (HURDE), Wednesday urged  Governor Chukwuma Soludo to as a matter of urgent importance, recover all public cemeteries encroached upon by these grabbers.

The groups made this known in a statement signed by the chairman of CD in South East and Executive Director, HURIDE,Human Rights Liberty Access and Peace Defenders’ Foundation, Uzor A Uzor, and issued to newsmen in Awka, ,Anambra State capital.

They lamented lack of public cemeteries in Onitsha and environs, as they have been stolen by the land grabbers.

The statement reads in part: ” There is no place to bury the dead in Onitsha now. The ones in Oraifite Street, Awada Obosi in Idemili North LGA and New Cemetery road  in Odoakpu, Onitsha have been sold out to different people. 

“The only cemetery in Onitsha is the one owned by the Moslem community in Onitsha, located  along Modebe Avenue, Odoakpu Onitsha,”  Uzor further disclosed.

He called on the Anambra State Governor to as a matter of urgency recover all those cemeteries so that there would be a place to bury the dead in Onitsha and environs.

” There should be a place for people to bury their dead in Onitsha and environs. All those cemeteries taken over and converted for individual use like the one in  Oraifite Street Awada Obosi and New Cemetery road, where private buildings, chuches and residential buildings are springing up, should be recovered with immediate effect by Anambra State Government”, he fumed.

They expressed dissatisfaction that some of these cemeteries have been taken over by the two major orthodox churches,( Roman Catholic and the Anglican), citing Old Cemetery road in Odoakpu, Onitsha, as a case study of his accusation.

“Government should activate all the instruments at her disposal with the respective local governments to move into action immediately 

“It is very disheartening that parts of the cemeteries have been taken over by churches.Those cemeteries should be recovered with immediate effect.

“Government should remove sentiments and have the political will to do what is right and that is revoking all the buildings and churches and recover the cemeteries now” the activist warned.