Deal #5042

The community claimed that when the land was acquired during the tenure of Governor Donald Duke, the landlords were not involved. The people of Ekong Anaku Village state that they were not consulted when 10 000 hectares was cleared by Obasanjo Farms, owned by the President Olusegun Obasanjo. In 2012 the company sold the lands to Wilmar International, illegally according to the villagers. The villagers now have three basic demands: the existing plantation must be operated as a partnership; there can be no expansion beyond the areas that have already been cleared for planting; and, the government must identify and provide the village with an alternative area of land of equal size where they can farm. The villagers state that Wilmar attempted to consult the villagers once the land had been purchased, however this was largely viewed as not genuine by the community. Finally consultation took place between the company and the local chiefs only, behind closed doors.

Ïn 2011, Ekong Anaku community threatened to seize Obasanjo Farm alleging that they were not adequately compensated for the loss of economic trees in the large expanse of land acquired.