Realtors, Ibusa Group Attack Aboh-Ogwashi Community Over Land

By Frank Oshanugor

In spite of the extant order by the Delta State Government restraining communities from encroaching on lands that are currently in dispute, armed youths from Ibusa in Oshimili Local Government Area of Delta State on Monday allegedly backed by Real Estate agents reportedly attacked Aboh Ogwashi Community in Aniocha South Local Government Area pulling down houses, fences and other things.

A source, Pastor Chalokwu Celestine told ATLANTICNEWSONLINE on phone that the Ibusa people had come with caterpillar bulldozing and pulling down both new and old buildings constructed over the years. According to him, they were accompanied by some armed police men.

On noticing the ferocity with which the alleged invaders had come, the Aboh Ogwashi residents chose not to resort to self help but quickly rushed to the Area Command headquarters at Ogwashi-Uku to lodge a report. The Area Commander was said to acted promptly by sending some policemen to Aboh Ogwashi to invite the Ibusa people who were reportedly led in the attack by the Youths President one Mr. Abua Oji (a.k.a. Bullet).

The emissaries from the Area Commander were said to have been rebuffed by the Ibusa people who allegedly went on to continue pulling down houses as their bulldozer went on full steam to clear Aboh Ogwashi lands, people’s houses, fences etc. The Area Commander obviously infuriated by the disobedience to his instruction despatched a team of armed policemen and military personnel on patrol to go to the scene and arrest the invaders.

The situation reportedly became ‘war like’ as the invaders resisted arrest and engaged the Area Commander’s team in a violent confrontation during which some people and two policemen in the team were injured.

It was gathered that during attack, handcuffs belonging to the police and military team from Ogwashi-Uku were snatched from them by the Ibusa group and their team. The land in question is located before the Admiralty University of Nigeria campus on the way from Ogwashi-Uku to Ibusa.

In the words of Pastor Chalokwu, “we do not know where the policemen with the Ibusa group came from, but one of them was identified as serving at Ibusa Division. Sequel to the incident, the Area Commander at Ogwashi Uku called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Ibusa asking him to produce the identified policeman whose name and rank could not immediately be ascertained.”

According to another source who craved anonymity, some of the invaders had boasted that the Delta State Commissioner of Police permitted them to take over the land which they claimed belong to them in spite of an alleged Supreme Court judgment ceding ownership yo Aboh Ogwashi. Effort to confirm this assertion from the Delta State Police spokesman, Bright Edafe; a Superintendent of Police as at press time failed as he could not be reached.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Area Commander At Ogwashi-Uku was not aware of any approval from the Commissioner of Police for Ibusa people to invade Aboh Ogwashi at a time the State Government has restrained every community from engaging in any land dispute until the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Government to investigate all such disputes and submits its report.

According to Pastor Chalokwu, “government had sent officials to inspect the place and they came with surveyors who went round the bush. The Commission of Inquiry probing into land disputes has asked everyone to wait until its report is out. Aboh Ogwashi people have been waiting for the report, all of a sudden the Ibusa people came with bulldozer destroying our people’s buildings.”

Giving some historical background details concerning the incident, an indigene of Aboh Ogwashi Mr. Ugochukwu Emordi asserted that the Ogwashi axis besides the Admiralty University of Nigeria rightly opposite Base 53 Brigade Army yard has been taken over by real estate companies prominent among which is Gee7 Property and Investment Limited.

According to Emordi, the company’s team had come forcefully to take over land people had already acquired, developed and fenced. The real estate team forcefully gained access to the land in August 2024. They had come with surveyors, trying to survey the same land they claimed to have Certificate of Occupancy as at 2011.”

Continuing, Emordi noted that one of requirements or preconditions of having a C of O on a land is the rule of title which explains how the land was acquired. Was it bought and from whom? Was it a gift and so on.

Speaking with ATLANTICNEWSONLINE on Monday night, Emordi said “When I met the surveyors in the bush, they told me personally that they were from Ministry of Lands & Survey but I made it clear to them that Ministry of Lands & Survey does not own land. Probing further to know whom they were working for, I asked if it was government, individual or business entity.

“As the conversation went on, they asked me to give them a short time to make call. They eventually called someone and in a jiffy, they told me they were working for the King of Ogwashi-Uku, HRM Obi Ifechukwude Aninshi Okonjo. They suggested if I could call him but I declined as I insisted that I should not be the one calling someone encroaching on my land. I made the officials to understand that I was aware of the pranks officials of the Ministry of Lands & Survey play over land especially with neighboring communities close to Asaba the state capital since Okpanam and Ibusa lands are finished.”

According to Emordi, “I cautioned that it should not be that they were there to survey and backdate, just as I explained to them that I was aware of such prank. I pointed to the area of land belonging to me and quietly left bush as I did not want violent with them. Subsequently I reported the matter to the police Area Command, Ogwashi-Uku with expectation of urgent intervention.

“They were eventually invited to the police station where more revelations were made that they were actually surveying the land even as they claimed that there was already a Certificate of Occupancy on the land contrary to the standard practice of obtaining titles on a land.”

On further questioning as to who was their principal, Emordi said that the officials tacitly avoided mentioning the name of the Ogwashi-Uku monarch and began to call the name of the real estate developers – Gee7 Property and Investment Limited which owns an office in Abuja. They gave names of one Barr. Chukwudi Onyejekwe and Mr. Emeka Nwokolo whom they claimed to be their Project Manager. They presented the two names and stylishly mentioning the name of Ogwashi-Uku monarch.”

As the interrogation continued, the Area Commander directed all parties to bring their title documents. Emordi said “they brought their documents of C of O and survey. I brought my allocation paper given to me by Chief Gabriel Nweke Onwuadiamu (now late), the then Okwabani of Aboh Ogwashi. The late Okwabani in his life time had single handedly litigated against Ibusa people and won them in 1999 over the same area of land. The judgment paper is in our position. The man had fought tooth and nail when Ibusa people began to encroach on Aboh-Ogwashi land with fake litigation survey and map. He had gone to Court with the then Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, HRM (Prof) Chukwuka Okonjo now of blessed memory in 2018 and the Supreme Court set aside the litigation map of Ibusa people, stating that it was manipulated.”

Instead of MCW as map title acronym, Ibusa people according to Emordi had erroneously used NCW in their inordinate quest to acquire the land. It was set aside by the Supreme Court in 2018. The same area has been charted when they came first before now by the Ministry of Lands & Survey clarifying that this area of land is not in any way in Ibusa territory both with the fake and original litigation plan.

Narrating further, Emordi said on the same portion of land, himself, Iloba Obata, Chief Paul Chiedu Onwuadiamu, Emeka Onwuadiamu, Michael Okoroafor Onwuadiamu and others were petitioned against for murder case which led to their arrest and detention at the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Alagbon Close, Lagos.

“We were not invited to any police station at Ogwashi-Uku, Asaba or Benin City before being taken to Lagos. They brought police who whisked us away to Lagos as they went ahead to destroy our house. This was in 2023. We were detained illegally at FCID Alagbon for three months as they made serious effort to imprison us in Lagos for an alleged murder case that took place in Delta State.”

When asked the connection of the Ogwashi-Uku monarch with the attackers of Aboh Ogwashi community, Emordi said
“I can categorically state that Obi Ifechukwude Okonjo and his brother Prince Onyema Okonjo were the sponsors and masterminds of all that had happened to us in that particular incident. They had written petition against us through their crony Barr. Jude Obidi. The monarch and his brother could not personally write the petition against us but resorted to using cronies because they know they are standing on illegality.

“The same Barr. Jude Obidi was the one Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration advised via a written letter not to parade himself as a chief any longer due to some mischiefs yet the Ogwashi-Uku king keeps using him as his crony as his agent at Aboh-Ogwashi. Obidi is causing commotion, terrorizing Aboh Ogwashi-Uku, grabbing and selling people’s land, sharing money with their group, Today (Monday) they demolished houses, fences and other things belonging to Aboh Ogwashi.

Efforts made to reach Barr. Obidi whom we learnt is the monarch’s legal adviser to confirm or deny the allegations against his principal proved abortive as at press time.

Mr. Emordi emphasized that if one has a C of O to a land by law and someone encroaches on the land, the appropriate thing to do is to go through the court to recover such land or alternatively through negotiations. It is barbaric to forcefully enter a land already in possession and acquisition by a people for years.

“The C of O being paraded is no way a title document to that land, Emordi insisted pointing out that the attack on Monday had been reported to the Area Command mmm and, Ogwashi-Uku and Delta Police headquarters, Asaba.

He asserted that the Ibusa group who invaded Aboh Ogwashi on Monday were acting in collaboration with the Ogwashi-Uku monarch in their desperate attempt to sell the land to developers like Gee7 Property Investment Limited and enrich themselves at the expense of the real land owners.