By Paul Mamattah
A member of the prominent Nii OdoiKwao family, Robert Nii OdoiKwao Junior,has expressed the family’s displeasure with the problem of state capture and violence caused by certain illegal and violent actors in Nima during the Homowo celebration in the area.
According to him, the violence was instigated by illegal actors and violent individuals, who have long dominated Nima through the use of violence.
He also implicated certain government officials, influential individuals in political circles, and specific Police Officers, including the Greater Accra Police Command, and the Divisional Commander of the Nima Police Station, Commander Asiedu.
Speaking in an interview with the Herald Newspaper in Accra, Nii OdoiKwao Junior, claimed that the recent violence in Nima is a result of state capture, with the Ayawaso East Municipal Assembly attempting to take over lands and assigning projects to specific contractors.
He described the current situation as a form of state capture, highlighting recent actions taken by the Ayawaso East Municipal Assemblyclaiming that the Municipal Assembly had unlawfully seized land and allocated it to contractors for various projects in locations such as Kawukudi roads, near the National Mosque, and behind the Nima Polyclinic.
Providing evidence to support his claims, Nii Odoi Kwao Junior, mentioned that churches like the Nima Presbyterian Church and St.Kizito Catholic Church, as well as businesses like Vivo Energy, have been dutifully paying rent to his family.
He stressed that his family has definitive proof of being the legitimate landlords of the properties involved, but one individual, Nii Futa, a self-styled Chief of Nima exerted excessive power and colluded with political actors to give away lands that belonged to the Nii OdoiKwao family, the owners of Nima lands.
Nii OdoiKwao Junior further noted that Nii Futa, aided by the Municipal Chief Executive of the Ayawaso East Assembly, Hajia Salma Adams Kuta, has been granting land concessions and selling land without proper ownership documentation, leading to fraudulent activities.
He emphasized that the land in question still belongs to his family and expressed disappointment in the lack of communication from the authorities, even resorting to illegal actions such as hiring landguards and Policemen to demolish houses.
Nii OdoiKwao accused Nii Futa of using ill-gotten money from the sale of land that did not belong to him to contract people to assault landlords during the celebration of Homowo in Nima and argued that the violence during this event was orchestrated by Nii Futa and his associates to assert their illegal authority over land in Nima.
Promising a strong response, he declared that his family would fight against this injustice through legal means and by exposing the mafia-style tactics being employed and expressed his belief that certain political actors are supporting Nii Futa and assured the public that his family would continue to challenge their actions through structured and detailed responses.
Nii OdoiKwao Junior vowed to stand in solidarity with the traders and mechanics located near the Nima Polyclinic and the entire Nima population, ensuring that their attempts to break down the polyclinic or perpetuate illegality under the guise of the Agenda 111 project would not succeed.
He promised that his family would not let human rights infringements go unpunished and would continue to expose those responsible for tarnishing Nima’s reputation.
