A human rights group wrote a petition, accusing the Nigerian Army of threatening to take over the resident's property.
The Nigerian Army has spoken on an allegation that it is threatening to confiscate an apartment reportedly belonging to a resident of Enugu State, south-east Nigeria.
The alleged confiscation
A human rights group, Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, had petitioned Minister of Defence Muhammed Badaru, accusing authorities of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army of threatening to forcefully and unlawfully take over the apartment belonging to the resident, Ogbodo Nana.
The Enugu State Government was said to have issued a certificate of occupancy for the property to Mr Nana, a lawyer.
The property is located close to the Army Division's Headquarters in Enugu.
The group, in the petition, claimed that the Division's authorities had perfected plans to forcefully take over the property despite a letter from the office of the Chief of Army Staff against it.
In the petition, the group claimed that a plot of land on which the apartment was built was handed over to Mr Nana as compensation for an alleged unlawful demolition of Mr Nana's residence around the area by the administration of a former governor of the state, Chimaroke Nnamani.
The petition, signed by the group president, Olu Omotayo, is dated 6 May.
The handing over of the plot of land by the Enugu State Government under the administration of the immediate past governor of the state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, followed a ruling by the Enugu State High Court in 2005 in a suit filed by Mr Nana, according to the petition.
The apartment, a fenced bungalow, has tenants occupying it.
The group said the petition followed claims by the Nigerian Army that the property belonged to it and the threat to eject the current occupants.
Nigerian Army speaks
But in a statement on Wednesday, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Onyema Nwachukwu, refuted the allegations.
Mr Nwachukwu, a major general, said the "historical ownership and legal documentation" of the said property predates the current dispute, arguing that the property belongs to the Nigerian Army.
The army spokesperson said available records show that, shortly after the Nigerian civil war in 1970, the military government of Enugu State allocated 36 properties to the army to address the accommodation needs of personnel in the Division.
He said that on 14 April 2008, the Enugu State Government acknowledged that the properties belong to the federal government and by extension the country's army.
"Accordingly the (Enugu) State Government initiated a proposal for an ownership exchange of the properties. In the terms of agreement of the proposal, the Nigerian army was to release 26 of the said properties to the state government and in return, the state government would construct alternative accommodations within the Abakpa Military Cantonment for the Nigerian army.
"The property in question, Plot 30, Abakaliki Road, Enugu, was among the 36 properties allocated to the Nigerian army, but was not part of the 26 properties involved in the proposed exchange with the state government," he stated.
Mr Nwachukwu argued that the certificate of occupancy issued to Mr Nana by the state government on 22 November 2022, was "defective" because it was "granted without a proper revocation of the original title held by the Nigerian army, which would be a necessary legal step to change ownership."
The spokesperson said the allegation that the army was taking over the property in defiance of the letter reportedly from the office of the chief of army staff was "completely unfounded and intended to tarnish the ongoing efforts of the Nigerian army to restore peace and tranquillity in the South-east region."
'Property acquired wrongly'
Mr Nwachukwu argued Mr Nana must have acquired the property from the wrong hands.
The spokesperson recalled that in April 2023, the Nigerian Army ejected Emeka Ugwuoke, a retired colonel, from the property after he allegedly attempted to convert it into his property following his retirement from service.
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"Surprisingly, it is on one corner of the property from where the Nigerian army ejected the retired senior officer that the trespassers invaded.
"The subsequent sale of a portion of the land to the current claimant, Barrister Ogbodo Nana, was done without the consent or approval of the Nigerian army, which would have been required for a lawful transaction," he said.
"The Nigerian army's position is that the property remains under its ownership, until proven otherwise through appropriate legal channels, and any claims to the contrary are based on misinformation."
The Nigerian Army, he said, has called for a thorough investigation into the matter to achieve a peaceful resolution of the dispute, saying they are "ready to present its evidence of ownership (of the property) to competent authorities."
"We also wish to reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and the proper resolution of this dispute in accordance with Nigerian legal standards and provisions."
