Land Grabbing At Ubulu-Uku, Ubulu-Okiti: Youths Capture Agents Of Ogwashi-Uku Monarch, Vow To Ruthlessly Deal With Trespassers

By Braxton Ilobah

In what was obviously a battle of wits on Monday, youths of Ubulu-Okiti, Aniagbala-Ubulu-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, outsmarted and captured no fewer than 20 suspected agents of the Ogwashi-Uku monarch on land grabbing mission in Ubulu-Okiti, Ubulu-Uku land territory.

The youths have vowed that henceforth, any land grabbers or their agents caught in the communities’ lands may not live to tell their stories and have therefore warned all trespassers to keep off after those captured were interrogated, signed undertaking and released.

Confessional statements reportedly made by some of those captured revealed that they were working for the Ogwashi-Uku monarch and his collaborators who are forcefully taking over lands belonging to people of Ubulu-Uku and Ubulu-Okiti communities. Among those captured was the supervisor of the team simply identified as Chris. He was said to have been engaged by the Ogwashi-Uku monarch to superintend activities relating to land grabbing in the communities. When searched by the youths, many charms were allegedly found tied to his waist ostensibly as protective objects. He was said to have been captured several times in the past while on illegal land grabbing but he would always return to continue his nefarious activities due to the strong backing of his principal.

ATLANTICNEWSONLINE investigation revealed that one Surveyor Frank’s Climax Survey Company is the contractor engaged by the Ogwashi-Uku monarch in the survey of land illegally acquired from Ubulu-Okiti, Aniagbala-Ubulu-Uku communities.

One of the company’s surveyors simply identified as Surveyor Fortune was one of those captured and interrogated by the youths. Those captured were principally people supervising the grabbed lands, their surveyors and survey line cutters, all allegedly engaged by Obi Okonjo of Ogwashi-Uku.

A few months ago, Ubulu-Okiti had faced serious confrontation from land grabbers believed to be members of a prominent family at Isah-Ogwashi, a suburb of Ogwashi-Uku, the headquarters of the local government. The land grabbers were alleged to have collaborated with the Ogwashi-Uku monarch HRM Obi Ifechukwude Aninshi Okonjo whose backing encouraged them to forcefully take over Ubulu Okiti farm lands and subsequently beating many of the farmers who incidentally became afraid to access their farms any longer.

Somehow in a twist of events, a peace move was initiated by the Ogwashi-Uku king through his representatives led by one Chief George Okafor (a.k.a. Mad Major) who came, asking Ubulu-Okiti leaders to give them opportunity for reconciliation.

A very impeccable source at Ubulu-Okiti told ATLANTICNEWSONLINE that following this request for reconciliation weeks ago, no less than three meetings had been held in Asaba by representatives of Ubulu-Okiti, Aniagbala-Ubulu-Uku and Ogwashi-Uku communities. At the first meeting, four traditional chiefs had represented Ubulu-Uku, five represented Ubulu-Okiti and four chiefs from Ogwashi-Uku. Aniagbala was equally represented.

It was gathered that the idea of the peace meeting was for the representatives of the various communities to discuss and resolve controversies surrounding their lands instead of waiting for the Land Dispute Commission set up by Delta State Government to do so for them. However, during the meeting, one of the representatives of Ubulu-Okiti had expressed ill-feelings towards Ogwashi-Uku people for breaking an earlier truce on the same land dispute.

He was said to have recalled a peace meeting with the communities during which Chief Oboli of Ogwashi-Uku on behalf of their community assured that they would be no further trespass on any community land but no sooner had the promise been made than agents of the Ogwashi-Uku monarch stormed Okiti land with buldozers.

Sequel to the controversy that attended the breaking of truce after Chief Oboli’s assurance, the Odogwu of Ogwashi-Uku, a high Chief approached Ubulu-Okiti community for peace once again but the Ogwashi-Uku people never kept to the terms of settlement. A member of the Ubulu-Okiti team that captured the trespassers on Monday described the Ogwashi-Uku leaders as serial “truce breakers” whose words can never be relied upon.

He narrated in details of how representatives of Ogwashi-Uku monarch had engaged chiefs from Ubulu-Uku, Ubulu-Okiti and Aniagbala towards finding a lasting solution to the issues of land grabbing yet, the Ogwashi-Uku monarch and his collaborators would be the one to thw

art such peace motives.

“They are not relenting in grabbing people’s land like the current situation in Aniagbala where lands belonging to a banker, Mr. Luke Ejiofor of Ubulu-Uku have been trespassed upon with destruction of many of his economic trees. Same has happened to the expansive plantation of a prominent family at Ubulu-Okiti whose father acquired the land in early 60s. The land has Certificate of Occupancy that is about 39 years old. They are all part of what the land grabbers are fighting to acquire.