The Esu vs Baba Danpullo land crisis that has been on for years now today took an ugly twist as hundreds of women, men and children took to the streets in protest.
The aggrieved villagers who embarked on a protest march early today from Esu are amongst other things demanding the immediate release of some indigenes of the locality who are currently being detained at a facility in Bamenda.
They were arrested and whished- off to Bamenda some months back and have since been standing trial at a court in Bamenda.
Today’s protest march was unprecedented.
The Esu youth development association, EYDA reported earlier on facebook that those who took part in the protest march numbered over 10.000. They were however intercepted around “Big Compound” along the Esu –Weh stretch of road by some combat-ready Gendarme elements.
The sub-prefect for Fungom later visited the scene of the incident hours after.
Sources in Wum say, the villagers were about marching to Bamenda to visit those detained.
“Enough is enough’’ voices could be heard saying.
“ Baba Danpullo must go” others shouted shortly before the arrival of the DO.
“Immediately land was allocated to Alhadji Baba in Esu, he embarked on an expansionist policy and he presently occupies 75% of Esu land and the Esu population has nowhere to farm.
Despite the fact that the Esu people started complaining to the administration since 1987 about the expansionist policies of Alhadji Baba, no positive action has been taken to redress the situation.
A majority of the Esu population drink water from streams. The cattle of the Elba Ranch pollute these streams and worst of it, the dips where the cattle are disinfected are emptied in these streams and after drinking polluted water, the population gets sick on regular bases.
I have a list of 135 family heads who have been evicted from their ancestral land with their wives, children and animals, by Alhadji Baba.
More than 500 Esu villagers therefore and 10.000 animals have been evicted in Esu by Alhadji Baba.
So many people have died as a result of frustration and many more presently leave a frustrated life in Esu as a result of Alhadji Baba’s stay in Esu.
The prison in Wum is floaded by Esu people imprisoned by Alhadji Baba, talk less of those detained without just cause” the Fon of Esu had said in a press statement.
by Mua Patrick
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