- •Disquiet in Owo, Enugu gov’s town over festering land dispute
From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
There is uneasiness in Owo, hometown of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, where the people of Ndiagu Owo, Nkanu East Local Government, have raised the alarm over an alleged attempt by suspected land grabbers to take over their ancestral land.
They pointedly accused the traditional ruler of Mbulu Owo autonomous community, Igwe Okeke Arum, of trying to seize their ancestral land despite multiple warnings from subsequent administrations in the state.
On March 5, 2025, community leaders, youth and women representatives gathered at Police Divisional Office, Idodo, to address the land dispute.
Unfortunately, the matter could not be addressed as the accused monarch failed to attend. The meeting was later rescheduled for the next day yet the monarch failed to appear in person, choosing rather to send representatives.
Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oscar Jah Donbil, asked the people to go about their businesses on the lands since the traditional ruler refused to honour two police summons on the matter.
President-General Ndiagu Owo, Ephraim Okoh, called on the governor to intervene in the festering dispute before the situation escalated out of proportion: “We are here today at the Idodo Police Division to honour the invitation from the police.
“Our primary aim of being here is because we wanted to clear our lands. Since the governor is from Owo, we have decided to help him clear the lands, especially with the recent infrastructural development he has brought. The governor is a very loving man.
“He started his administration by bringing dividends of democracy to Owo. We had been without electricity for years. But immediately he assumed office, he bought a transformer for the community. He is also constructing our roads, the Idodo Bridge and a community health centre, among others.
“We decided to start clearing our lands, but land grabbers stopped us using some policemen. Before we commenced this work, we reported to this police station, and they gave us the go-ahead.
“But suddenly, the DPO told us to stop work so that we could ascertain why these land grabbers were interfering. We agreed to stop because we respect the governor.
“However, when we got here today, we started hearing a different story. We were told to come tomorrow instead. What we understand is that the DPO is still pleading with us not to commence work for now. We have agreed. But the traditional ruler is still insisting that the entire land where we live belongs to him.
“We are calling on the government to help us settle this land dispute and restore peace in the community. We have been here since morning only for the DPO to tell us to return tomorrow.
“We are begging government to help us so that we can go back to living the way we were living before.”
The village chairman, Christopher Njoku, claimed that the alleged land grabber had no historical claim to the disputed land but was trying to annex it by force: “The issue on ground is between our community and the Igwe of an autonomous community who has no business with our land but he crossed the Idodo River to grab our lands, a place where his forefathers never had any land.
“This issue has been ongoing for years. Even former governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi ordered him to leave the land and stop troubling our community. The elders of Owo have also told him to leave. Governor Mbah heard about this matter and ordered him to desist from trying to grab the land.
“But he has refused, thinking that the governor is a governor of one community instead of the whole state. We thank God for the type of governor we have. One who does not discriminate.
“That is why we are here to honour the police invitation. The Igwe stopped the labourers we hired from clearing the land, claiming that his forefathers gave us the land, forgetting that our forefathers had lived on this land for more than 5,000 years.
“He disregarded the governor’s order. We are six villages that make up Owo: Ashishi Owo, Ohuani Owo, Ogere Owo, Ishiegu Owo, Emene Owo and Ndiagu Owo. There is no particular village that is the sole origin of Owo apart from these six villages.
“If not that we are a peace-loving community, this land dispute would have resulted in war. Our youths are ever ready to defend our land. We are calling on the government to restore peace.”
Ndiagu Owo women leader, Margaret Egbo, said: “We are calling on government to help us resolve this issue and restore peace in our community. The whole state belongs to the government, not to any individual. Government should come to our aid because they are the hope of the common man.”
The monarch did not speak on the allegations. For over two weeks, he neither picked our correspondent’s calls nor responded to short messages sent to his phone number and WhatsApp account.