The people ofUmunenweze community in Nkwoegwu, Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, have once again cried out to the Abia State Government to wade into what they described as the illegal and alarming takeover of their ancestral lands by alleged land grabbers.
The people who have recently carried out series of protests to register their displeasure over the persistent invasion, brazen contempt of court and desperate attempts to strip their community of their inheritance, said they won’t relent until their ancestral land is safeguarded.
They disclosed their readiness to deploy legal, judicial and peaceful customary measure available to enforce the court order restraining Okechukwu Ndukwe, Onduk Real Estate Builders & Construction Ltd and Paul’s group, from erecting illegal structures, partitions and reselling of Okpuijikara land.
Briefing journalists at the ancestral site in Okpuijikara, Umunenweze village, the spokesperson for the community, Onyekachi John Igbojionu, narrated that since 2017, the people of the area have fought relentlessly against the illegal sale, lease and donation of their land, allegedly being spearheaded by one Paul Onuigbo Uzuegbu, Ejikeme Emereuwa and Obidike Nwokorie.
According to Igbojionu, following a resolution at their December 2017 Annual Conference, the community officially published a Caveat Emptor Notice in the Daily Sun Newspaper on Thursday, 8th March, 2018 (signed on 06-03-2018 by fheir then Village Chairman, Chief Jerry C. Ozochie Uzuegbu, and Village Secretary, Mr. Chiemena Nwagboso).
He said that notice explicitly established the exact extent and boundaries of their communal land.
“Extending from Okaiuga Nkwoegwu Secondary School near the village Mbara Ama / Town Hall through Nnewo and Okpuijikara to our boundary with Umu-Ohuru Village down to the Obohu river/stream being our boundary with Umuabali and Amachara villages in Umuahia South LGA and where the land straddles the Port Harcourt to Enugu expressway at the point about five kilometres from Abia Tower and just short of the NNPC Mega Filling Station, extending through Uzo-Iyi-Ochie and stopping by Ogba Rubber and Umunenweze Mbara Ama / Town Hall”.
He said the notice declared to the world that no individual, village head, Eze, President General, chairman or group holds any mandate whatsoever to sell, let, lease, pledge or deal with any part of the land.
Igbojionu went further to disclose that to protect their land from illegal transactions, the community instituted a lawsuit in the Abia State High Court and successfully secured a subsisting curt injunction which restrained Paul Onuigbo Uzuegbu, Ejikeme Emereuwa, Obidike Nwokorie and their agents from selling, leasing or carrying out any civil development on okpuijikara land, adding that only seasonal farming activities are permitted.
However, Igbojionu, noted that in a total defiance of the already existing court injunction, Paul Onuigbo Uzuegbu and his accomplices, in conjunction with others secretly sold okpuijikara land last year to a commercial developer, Okechukwu Ndukwe, operating under his corporate entity, Onduk Real Estate Builders & Construction Ltd.
“Shortly after his illegal transaction in May 2025, Okechukwu Ndukwe and Onduk Real Estate invaded okpuijikara with armed security personnel, comprising the police and the army to intimidate our peaceful villagers, seize the land and commerced civil construction in direct violation of a subsisting judicial order “, he said.
The community through its spokesperson, equally alleged that the Defunct Secondary School (College) in the community is their next target, stating that any attempt to touch the land would be met with firm, lawful and total resistance by the people.
Igbojionu called on Okechukwu Ndukwe and Onduk Real Estate Builders to cease work immediately, demobilize their equipment and vacate okpuijikara land in strict compliance with the subsisting High Court Order.
He further called on the security agencies to help intervene, preventing anyone from flouting court order, so as, to avoid the break down of peace and order, adding that the people of umunenweze are deeply aggrieved by the continuous and wanton provocation.
“To Abia State Government and the Ministry of Lands, disregard all letters from any fictitious body, be it the “Umunenweze four kindred Secretariat” or the unauthorized Okaiuga Nkwoegwu Autonomous Community (ONAC) letter dated 16th February, 2026. Neither Okpuijikara nor our college land has been donated for any commercial scheme”.
Igbojionu passionately appealed to the administration of Governor Alex Otti not to allow the situation to persist, stressing that the people overwhelmingly voted for him in 2023 and would support him again in 2027, given his developmental strides across the state. He therefore urged the Governor to urgently intervene and put an end to the continuous land grabbing in the area.
Also speaking, Comrade Nwabueze Emereuwa appealed for justice, describing the people as peace-loving citizens who appreciate Governor Alex Otti for his developmental strides across Abia State. He urged the Governor to intervene and help reclaim their ancestral lands from alleged land grabbers, stressing that they do not want further violations of the law.
The Chairman of Umunenweze, Amb. Okwulehie Obinna, also confirmed the situation, saying their findings indicated that the individuals mentioned were allegedly involved in the sale of land in the community. However, he called for the appropriate authorities to ensure that the right thing was done in the interest of peace.
According to him, “This is our farmland. We were supposed to cultivate it this year, but because of this situation, we could not farm. We are appealing to the relevant authorities to urgently intervene”.
Similarly, Janet Nwagboso said the community had been suffering from the situation for a long time, alleging that some individuals were selling their lands and enriching themselves at the expense of the people.
She lamented that the development had made it difficult for residents to engage in their normal agricultural activities, as most of their farmlands had allegedly been taken over. She, therefore, appealed to the government to urgently wade into the matter and protect the community’s lands.
Meanwhile, the residents of the community were seen chanting solidarity songs, carrying placards that read, “Stop Illegal Land Grabbing At Okpuijikara”, “Honour the Law.Respect Owners. Stop Land Grabbing “, “Say No To Land Grabbing, Justice for the Community”, “Dr Alex Otti Save Umunenweze from land Grabbers”, “Buyers Take Note. But Okpuijikara Land, Buy Lawsuit”, among others.
