Security Agencies Show Indifference As Land Grabbers Continue Destruction Of Multi-Million Naira Farms At Ubulu-Uku

By Frank Oshanugor

Nigeria as a country is fast slipping into a high level of lawlessness as suspected agents of the Ogwashi-Uku monarch on Sunday (today) continued their land grabbing and destructive activities at Aniagbala – Ubulu-Uku with the police and other security agencies not bathing an eyelid despite several media reports.

In the last two weeks, media reports have alerted of the forceful grabbing of lands belonging to a banker, Mr. Luke Ejiofor during which his economic trees and other things were destructed. Last week, no fewer than 6000 of his palm trees were pulled down with buldozers by the thugs suspected to be working for His Royal Majesty Obi Ifechukwude Aninshi Okonjo of Ogwashi-Uku who reportedly laid claim of ownership despite the fact that the land naturally belongs to Ubulu-Uku kingdom.

The same thugs had reportedly set fire on no less 100 beehives belonging to Ejiofor in the plantation same last week. Due to this malicious damage to his property, Ejiofor had approached the Court seeking an Order to restrain the Ogwashi-Uku monarch and his agents from further encroachment on the land.

It was gathered that the Court granted the order and a bailiff who went to serve a copy at the King’s palace at Ogwashi-Uku returned with it as no palace official accepted to receive it on behalf of the King who was said not to be available. Counsel to the monarch was also said to have declined accepting it as he insisted that it must be served personally on the king.

As Ejiofor’s lawyers were still planning to devise a substituted means of serving the Order, the thugs on Sunday (today) went ahead and pulled down the main gate leading into the multi-million all-season farms of Ejiofor where tomatoes were produced in large quantities at all times since the farm depends on irrigation system.

On Sunday, Ejiofor told ATLANTICNEWSONLINE that the thugs and their allies claimed they were “constructing road and after the construction, they would begin to mark the area. It means that they would destroy my farm.

“This year alone, I had spent about N10million to sink borehole. There are solar panels, generator and other things for irrigation system in place there. I use all these for the all-season farming. This year alone, the farm produced 75,000 kilos of tomatoes. Many people in the area know my tomatoes because I use irrigation system. All the pipes and other things are kept within the farm premises where the tomatoes are produced.

“So the main gate to that premises is what has been destroyed today by land grabbers’ agents. I have over 10,000 palm nurseries being nurtured in that environment. I sell palm nurseries from the farm to potential palm tree buyers who are interested in palm oil business. Our business peak period is usually during rainy season and as the next rainy season draws near, they would soon come to buy my palm nurseries. That is the place they have invaded and destroyed the fence,” he lamented.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that few hours after Sunday’s attack on Luke Ejiofor’s farm gate, his elder brother Dr. Emma Ejiofor (the Onishe of Ubulu-Uku kingdom) engaged Ogwashi-Uku monarch’s younger brother Prince Onyema Okonjo who has reportedly been acting in concert with the King, in WhatsApp chat bringing to the fore, the destruction of his younger brother’s properties.

The WhatsApp chats which were sighted by ATLANTICNEWSONLINE showed that while Prince Onyema Okonjo was insisting that “the land is under court judgement order” Dr. Ejiofor drew his attention to the fact that the land in question is within Ubulu-Uku territory and never within Edo-Ogwashi-Uku and moreso, the purported judgement between Ogwashi-Uku monarch and Ashi Industries Limited did not in any way authorize the wilful destruction of Luke Ejiofor’s properties by agents of the king.

While Prince Okonjo is relying so much on the purported judgement of Ogwashi-Uku High Court, Ejiofor has made it clear through the chat that the so called judgement and Certificate of Occupancy on the Aniagbala land were fraudulently obtained, noting that it was not a true judgement but a sort of consent agreement between the Ogwashi-Uku monarch and Ashi Industries Limited which belong to one Ashibuogwu family in Ogwashi-Uku.

Moreso, the land in question does not in any way form part of Edo-Ogwashi-Uku which the King is claiming to belong to him. The land is in Aniagbala, a part of Ubulu-Uku territory.

Some other documents sighted by ATLANTICNEWSONLINE showed that in the process of acquiring the land for economic purposes, the Ubulu-Uku monarch and his Council of Chiefs had initiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the leadership of Ubulu-Uku and Mr. Luke Ejiofor. The contents of the MoU which was signed by the monarch and some chiefs showed that Luke Ejiofor fulfilled all the requirements before he eventually took ownership of the land about eight years ago.

So it is surprising how the Ogwashi-Uku monarch would suddenly claim ownership of the land in question.