Soludo Urged to Prevent Looming Communal Crisis, As Mbanano Protests Continuous Intimidation

By Izunna Okafor, Awka

The people of Mbanano in Enugwu-Agidi community, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State have called for the urgent intervention of the state government over the alleged invasion of their ancestral lands by group of notorious land grabbers.

Mbanano, which is made up of four villages in Enugwu-Agidi, made the call in a press conference held on Monday at the palace of late H.R.H. Igwe D.O. Ikeanyi, Okpalariam II of Enugwu-Agidi, where they also raised an alarm over the unrestrained contempt of court being perpetrated by the said notorious land grabbers.

The press conference was preceded by a well-attended meeting that attracted members and leaders of the four villages that make up Mbanano community/zone —Achalla, Iruobieli, Igbollo, and Ifite villages —which are the villages whose portions of land are in the area being invaded and grabbed.

Addressing newsmen shortly after a meeting, the Chairman of Mbanano Land Committee, Ozo Fred Onubuogu went memory lane to explain that the land tussle dates back to 1938 (86 years ago) when the people of Ezinano community in Awka started invading their lands, a case, he said, eventually lingered till 1954 when the West African Court of Appeal (WACA) delivered a landmark judgment in favour of Mbanano Enugwu-Agidi as the rightful owners of the land.

According to him, several years after their 1954 court victory, the people of Ezinano Awka surfaced again and filed another suit at a High Court, challenging the Mbanano's ownership of the land again. The ruling on this new suit, he said, was given on October 23, 2013, when the High Court, in its judgment, again reaffirmed Mbanano as the rightful owners of the land, upholding and validating the earlier judgment by WACA.

Hon. Onubuogu noted that both before and after the landmark 1954 judgment by the West African Court of Appeal (WACA) and the succeeding judgment of the Nnewi High Court in 2013 which are all in favour of the Mbanano community; this said land had been in the custody of the Mbanano villagers, who peacefully utilize it for various economic activities, including farming, palm wine tapping, and other agrarian endeavours.

He, however, alleged that the tranquility of the area was disrupted sometime in 2018 when some elements from the Ezinano community in Awka, led by one Ozo Jeff Nweke, surfaced from nowhere and began to re-challenge the legitimacy of the Mbanano community's ownership of the land, now in a brutal, destructive and physically confrontational way.

“Despite these unequivocal rulings, Ozo Jeff Nweke and his cohorts refused to abide by the law, and have resorted to brazen acts of lawlessness,” he alleged.

Continuing, he said the Ezinano community Awka, in 2018, went further to appeal the 2013 judgment of the High Court. He, however, added that even when the appeal was yet to be heard by the Court, Ozo Nweke and his cohorts from Ezinano Awka began a campaign of intimidation, forcibly entering the disputed land, including the Trans-Obibia Layout—an area already gazetted by the Anambra State Government for Enugwu-Agidi.

According to Onubuogu, Ozo Nweke and his armed men removed government-installed beacons, destroyed property, and terrorized the local populace, rendering them unable to access their land.

He said that, in pursuance of the case, Ezinano community also lost woefully in their appeal, when the Appeal Court, on June 11, 2020, also declared Mbanano people the rightful owners of the land in another landmark victory, and further issued an order restraining Ozo Nweke and his cohorts from Ezinano Awka from entering the land.

Hon. Onubuogu, however, expressed shock that despite all these court judgments and the court order, Nweke and his cohorts have continued to invade their lands with armed thugs, even to the point that many Mbanano villagers, including women, who own farmlands in the area have repeatedly escaped death with severe injuries, as a result of deadly attacks launched on them and the intimidations they were subjected to by the said armed thugs who were allegedly engaged and stationed inside the bushes by Nweke, and who usually confront the villagers whenever they go to check on their farmlands and economic trees in the area.

“Nweke's actions are not just a flagrant violation of the law, but also a direct threat to the peace and security of our community,” Onubuogu lamented, adding that the area has consequently been made unaccessible to its rightfully owners —the Mbanano people.

He also recounted the ordeal of the Leader of the Community's Forest Guard and Chairman of Achalla village (one of the villages that make up Mbanano Enugwu-Agidi), Mr. Obinna Okoyeocha, who was reportedly beaten to stupor right inside the bush in the area recently, when he and few persons went to check on their farmlands in the area, only to be confronted by a group of heavily-armed thugs, many of whom were also alleged to be members of Nweke's private security outfit.

“They started shooting sporadically, and some of the men escaped, and they captured Chief Okoyeocha and few other persons, stripped them naked, tortured them to near death, dispossessed them of their motorcycles and phones, including the belongings abandoned by those who narrowly escaped.

“And after that, they bundled them to the B Division, Awka, labelling them as criminals that they captured. This is what our people have been passing through in our own land in the hands of these people, despite the several court judgments upholding our ownership of the land. You can imagine such a gross contempt of court!” he decried, while also harping on the need for the urgent intervention of the government.

Contributing, another elder and Vice Chairman of Mbanano Community, Chief Peter Onuekwusi who corroborated the narrative by Hon. Onubuogu, regretted that despite all their efforts to get the intervention of the relevant authorities, much has not been done, while the hoodlums continue to unleash mayhem on the innocent people of Mbanano whenever they go to check on their farmlands. He also lamented that the area has become a danger zone and hideouts for criminal activities due to its inaccessibility to people, even as the people no longer have where to farm.

“Our people have been forced to endure physical assaults, threats, intimidations and the constant fear of violence. Women, who previously engaged in farming on the disputed land, can no longer go about their activities safely.

“Despite our numerous reports to the authorities, much has not been done to curb these illegal activities.

“The police, at various points, had arrested some of the armed men involved in this, but also mysteriously released them in the dead of night, only for them to return and continue their reign of terror and attacking police who went to the area, just few hours after their release,” he recounted.

Continuing, he alleged that the situation reached a boiling point that period, when, during a police operation to investigate the illegal activities, armed men associated with Nweke, shot and wounded several police officers, further escalating the conflict.

It was alleged that, after that encounter, Nweke sponsored a nude protest in Awka against the Anambra State Police Command, with several allegations against the police.

It was, however, gathered that, after the incidents, Nweke was eventually arrested sometime in November 2023 by the police, who accused him of sponsoring a nude protest against the police, with a view to evading criminal charges against him. He was also accused of illegal possession of forearms, land grabbing, shooting of police operatives and terrorism. He, however, allegedly returned from detention moments later and forged ahead with his activities, despite reportedly having a pending court case at the High Court over the allegations that led to his arrest by police.

He was said to have unbridledly continued and sustained his activities in the disputed land since then, till date; hence the call by the Mbanano community for government's urgent intervention, to avoid further escalation of the matter to the point where people would resort to taking the laws into their hands.

This notwithstanding, Chief Onuekwusi revealed that a group of persons from Ezinano Awka, led by Nweke, recently came to Mbanano community and initiated an illegal negotiation with some excommunicated indigenes and co-land grabbers from the Mbanano community, claiming that they want to give peace a chance in the age-old land tussle by, hence, proposing that the disputed land be divided into two for the two parties (Ezinano and Mbanano), as a way to end the crisis.

Speaking through Chief Onuekwusi, the people of Mabanano community, during the press conference on Monday, however, unanimously opposed and dissociated themselves from the “so-called peace negotiation with Ezinano”. They emphatically maintained that they (Mbanano) would never share their ancestral lands with anyone, let alone someone or a group that had dragged them to courts several times over the same land and lost in all, and then resorted to causing terror, and sponsoring physical attacks and different forms molestations against them who are the rightful owners of the land.

According to them, they only need their land and full access into it, without any form of interest in any peace deal that is contrary to that or involves sharing their ancestral lands with anyone. They also warned that anyone or group going into any such unauthorized negotiation with the name of Mbanano Community is on his own and doing so at his own risk and detriment.

Concluding, the Mbanano community indigenes who attended the event, comprising the men, the women and the youths, unanimously called for the urgent intervention of the Governor Chukwuma Soludo-led Anambra State government on the matter, to ensure that the rule of law is vehemently upheld, to prevent further breach of peace, law and order in Mbanano Enugwu-Agidi by group of legally-defeated intruders and obstinate land grabbers.

“It is as if we are being left to fend for ourselves in a situation that could easily escalate into a full-blown communal war,” Chief Onuekwusi warned.

“We are law-abiding citizens and have done everything by the book, yet the government appears indifferent to our plight,” he stated.

The community leader expressed fears that if the situation continues unchecked, it could lead to a total breakdown of law and order in the area. He emphasized that the Mbanano community has no intention of engaging in any form of illegal or violent retaliation, but that they are growing increasingly desperate for government intervention to restore peace and uphold the rule of law.

Chief Onuekwusi also highlighted the broader implications of the conflict and looming crisis, pointing out that the Mbanano community’s land is not only vital for their livelihoods but also holds significant cultural and historical importance, as both their ancestral shrines and burial graves some of their loved ones and relatives, and other such historical monuments and items of significant cultural values to Mbanano are also situated in lands, which are now being desecrated by the ongoing encroachments by intruders.

“The courts have consistently given us victory because the evidence of our ownership of the land is irrefutable. Yet, we are being punished for our patience and faith in the legal system. How long can we continue to endure this injustice?” he wondered.

“It is high time the government came in and took the necessary actions to stop these illegalities,” he reiterated, wondering why one person or group could be acting as if they are greater than the government, even to the extent of blatantly disobeying court orders and judgments.

When this reporter, Izunna Okafor, contacted him for his reaction, Ozo Nweke, who was accused as a principal actor in the land tussle, declined to comment on the allegations and claims by the people of Mbanano, stressing that he would not say anything until he sees the allegations.

He, however, in the same telephone interview, later claimed that “the people are liars”, adding that “they should go to court.”

More photos from the event: