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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Tension is steadily rising in Akpugo, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, where members of the Umuedenwoko family and their Cooperative Society alleged being denied possession of their ancestral farmland, despite a subsisting court judgment in their favour.
What should have been a triumphant return to reclaim their land after 13 years of litigation has, instead, turned into a fresh confrontation, complete with heavy earth-moving equipment, armed security presence, and a boldly mounted police project signboard.
At the centre of the storm is Ngene-Ugbugbo, a vast expanse of land said to measure about 299 hectares. When Daily Sun visited the site, heavy-duty machinery was stationed on the property while armed police officers maintained visible security. A signboard bearing the name of the Nigeria Police Property Development Company announced plans for a Police Secondary School.
For the Umuedenwoko family, however, the sight represented what they described as “intimidation” and a direct affront to a court judgment delivered in 2023.
Secretary of Umuedenwoko Family Union and Umuedenwoko Farmers Cooperative Society Limited, Chief Ikem Okenwa, stood before journalists and spoke with a mixture of anger and disbelief.
“This land Ngene-Ugbugbo situated in Akpugo in Nkanu West Local Government Area, ab initio, is owned by Umuedenwoko family union,” he declared.
He explained that the land was surveyed in 1978 and obtained customary right of occupancy in 1993. Tracing the roots of the dispute, Okenwa recalled the era of former Enugu State governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, when autonomous communities were created from existing ones.
“During the era of Chimaroke, he decided to carve out autonomous communities. Then he carved this autonomous community out of Ogonogo-Ejindiagu. This community is now known as Ugwuafor Autonomous community,” he said.
He added that under another former governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enuagu Autonomous Community was later carved out of Ugwuafor owing, according to him, to criminality and land-grabbing concerns
“The then governor magnanimously carved out Enuagu autonomous community with a new traditional ruler,” he stated.
Okenwa said matters worsened after the installation of a monarch in 2006, and the elevation of his brother to Inspector General of Police in 2010.
“Now, they connived and relocated a police secondary school at Ubahu to this land, Ngene-Ugbugbo. A Police Secondary School for 36.15 hectares of land. Even UNN or UNEC do not have that land size. So, all these things are conspiracy and intimidation,” he alleged.
Feeling aggrieved, the family approached the court in 2011. “So we went and challenged the matter in court. When we did in 2011, His Worship A.O. Anidi, in 2023, gave judgment in HAGB1/11/2023 in favour of Umuedenwoko, annulling the purported acquisition as illegal,” he said. He stressed that no appeal was filed against the judgment.
“Hence, we have come to reclaim our land; but, on coming here, we saw a police signboard hoisted that they are a Police Property Limited Project. I don’t understand. It is unheard of. What kind of intimidation is this? Do we resort to self-help because of intimidation or what? It is unacceptable.”
Beside him was Ikechukwu Nnamokoh, Chairman of Umuedenwoko family, Akpugo, Enugu branch, who said the family returned to the land relying on the strength of the court’s pronouncement.
“These people you see here are members of the family. We have come here to access the land that is our ancestral home,” he said, pointing to a section of the property. “Here was my uncle’s house which was demolished.”
Nnamokoh narrated how they first noticed the police presence. “We suddenly saw police hoisting their signpost, claiming that this place was given to them as Police Secondary School. They didn’t inform us. We made contact with the police and we had to go to court in 2011. We were in court from 2011 to 2023. And the court gave judgment in our favour, and that is why we are here.”
He insisted the family neither negotiated nor ceded the land to anyone. “This development is not known to us because we have not negotiated with anybody. We did not discuss it with anybody. So, this is the reason we are here. The judgment is that this land is Umuedenwoko’s land. We don’t know these people who are claiming our land. We are just seeing signposts.”
Their counsel, Gabriel Oforma Agbo, said the cooperative lawfully acquired the land from the old Anambra State and had developed it extensively.
“This land was properly acquired from the old Anambra State, issued with customary right of occupancy, equivalent to having a Certificate of Occupancy. They have paid ground rent since 1978 and invested heavily on the land,” he explained.
Agbo argued that the crisis deepened after the creation of the autonomous community, when the traditional ruler allegedly began laying claim to lands belonging to several villages.
“The monarch decided to claim that because he is the traditional ruler of the community, he automatically became the owner of all lands belonging to these villages. In law and, in fact, that is wrong,” he said.
On the allocation of part of the land to the Nigeria Police Force, the lawyer maintained that due process was not followed.
“We are not saying the government cannot take land. But here is land already developed by local corporators who should be encouraged. Instead of compensating them, the Igwe moved in with machines, destroying economic trees,” he alleged.
The family has since written an open letter dated November 4, 2025, to Governor Peter Mbah, accusing their monarch of “sponsoring communal conflicts, misleading government agencies, and manipulating political institutions” to deny them possession of their land.
In the letter, they wondered “why your government fails to consider the scandalous attitudes of the said traditional ruler whose actions would, ordinarily, be considered sacrilegious,” and urged the governor to constitute a judicial panel to investigate what they described as a multiplicity of judgments, and the alleged undermining of court authority.
Reacting to the allegations, Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, maintained that the Nigeria Police Force acquired the land through the Enugu State Government for the purpose of building a Police Secondary School.
“That land was acquired to build a secondary school. The Nigeria Police Property Development Company has written to inform the Commissioner of Police in Enugu that they want to commence work on the land for the purpose of building a police secondary school. The document is available.
“So far, all our documents show that we have not deviated from the original plan. We are working with the documents we received from the state government.
“So, the issue lies between the state government and the landowners. If there is a proper court judgment, the police would have a copy of the judgment, and we would have received a copy,” he said.
