The Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations, COCIN, for Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, has alleged that terrorists have seized and shared all the lands and farmlands he inherited from his father, leaving him and his children with nothing.
The cleric, who made the allegations in a post on his X handle and Facebook page on Saturday, lamented that farmlands and plots left for him by his father have all been annexed by terrorists and Fulani bandits, leaving him and his children with nothing.
Tagging the post "My inherited lands have been seized by terrorists: they have shared my father's lands among themselves," the clergy wondered what he will bequeath to his own children.
"I never imagined that a day would come when I would have to stand before the world and speak about the painful loss of the land my ancestors left behind for us," he wrote.
"Today, my heart is heavy, not because I have lost a piece of property alone, but because something that carries the history, sacrifices, sweat, and memories of generations before me is being taken away right before our eyes.
"Terrorists have seized my inherited farmland and divided the plots among themselves as though they have every right to take what does not belong to them. They have shared our inheritance among themselves while the rightful owners are left helpless, frightened, and uncertain about the future.
"Do you understand what this means? This is the land our fathers laboured on. This is the land that carries our family history. This is the inheritance that should have been passed from one generation to another. It is the land where our children should have been able to stand tomorrow and say, "This is where our fathers came from."
"But today, strangers have taken possession of it. What kind of country allows innocent people to lose their ancestral inheritance to violence and intimidation? Must we watch everything our fathers worked for disappear simply because we refuse to surrender to fear?
"I have buried members of my congregation. I have stood at mass graves and wept over the bodies of people whose only crime was wanting to live in peace. I have watched families become widows and orphans. I have seen children grow up without fathers and mothers. And now, even the land our ancestors left behind is being taken away.
"If they take our people, we mourn. If they burn our churches, we pray. If they destroy our homes, we cry and try to rebuild.
"If they seize our farms, where shall we go? If they take our inheritance, what will our children inherit?
"Are we going to become strangers on the very land where our fathers were born, raised their children, buried their loved ones, and lived their entire lives?
"I am a servant of God, but I am also a human being. I feel pain. I have a family. I have people who depend on me. I have memories connected to the land my ancestors left behind. I cannot pretend that everything is well when injustice continues to swallow the future of innocent people.
"To those who continue to ask why we keep speaking about the suffering in Nigeria, this is one of the reasons. We are not only fighting to preserve lives; we are also crying for the protection of our homes, our farms, our communities, our churches, and the inheritance of generations yet unborn.
"But what happens when the inheritance a father leaves for his children is seized by armed men? What happens when the children of tomorrow have nothing to return to because everything has been taken through violence?
"I am asking the Nigerian government, the international community, human rights organisations, and everyone who believes in justice to hear our cries.
"We are not asking for another person's land. We are asking for protection of what rightfully belongs to us. We are asking for justice. We are asking to live without fear. We are asking for the freedom to return to our farms and cultivate the land that sustains our families."
Terrorists have seized, shared my inherited lands among themselves - Rev. Dachomo alleges