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From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
There is a rising tension in Urum Community, Awka-North Local Government Area, Anambra State, over the selling of about 1,000 plots of land at Ochiokwa stable to a developer, Mr. Chukwuemeka Okechukwu Kingsley (aka Nwagu Ata Ahihia), for estate development without the consent of the community.
The community described the purported selling of the Ochiokwa land to a developer without the knowledge of the president-general of the community or the leadership of the town’s union as an affront to the leadership and people of Urum community.
The alleged developer, Mr. Kingsley, who owns Nwagu Ata Ahihia Property and Homes, allegedly converted over 1,000 communal land at the Ochiokwa boundary between Urum, Achalla and Amanuke, without legal documents from the community.
Already, youths, alongside elders and leadership of the community, led by the PG of Urum community, Hon. Sir. Felix Godwin Oranye, were said to have besieged the Ochiokwa land in question to warn the developer to desist, forthwith, from entering and developing the land.
Oranye said the Ochiokwa land was a communal land with the blood of their ancestors shed in the course of communal war with the neighbouring communities, claiming ownership of the land before Urum reclaimed it, hence it’s not just any land but a sacred land nobody should toy with.
Urum community warned that, on no condition should the Ministry of Land, the Anambra State government and its officers issue a certificate of occupancy (C of O) or endorse any formal papers in respect of the said land to Nwagu Ata Ahihia or his cohorts.
The Urum community’s PG lamented that all efforts to ensure peace reigned in the past one year were futile, adding that the farmland owned by Urum women and economic trees on the land, worth several millions, were destroyed by Nwagu Ata Ahihia and his cohorts in the illegal development.
He wondered why the developer should orally be claiming their land with alleged endorsements by their traditional ruler and the Onowu, without showing the community’s leadership the certifications, even as everyone in Urum denied being an accomplice in the land deal.
Despite the protest from community members, Mr. Kingsley was seen in a video at the site in what appeared like mocking Urum community as ‘Wailers’, calling on investors to come to Ochiokwa land and develop it, stressing that his mission was to bring development and nothing else.
Kingsley enjoined developers to take advantage of the opportunity, as Urum is only a few minutes’ drive from Regina Ceali Junction, Awka, the Anambra State capital. He called on the general public to “ignore the noise from Urum as nothing will stop him from bringing in development to the land”.
The traditional ruler of the Urum community, Igwe Nweke, when contacted, exonerated the estate developer, Chief Okechukwu Chukwueme, owner of Nwaguatahihia Properties, from allegations of land grabbing.
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Nweke clarified that the disputed land was legally acquired from its original owners. He stated that the land belonged to specific families in the community, and not the entire town as some had claimed.
The land has been at the centre of controversy, with the President-General of the community, local leaders, and some residents insisting that it belongs to the entire community, meaning no individual or family has the sole right to sell it. The disagreement has fueled tension and unrest, necessitating the intervention of the monarch and other authorities to prevent potential conflict.
Igwe Nweke said his findings confirmed that the land, located in the Ochiokwa area, was privately owned and lawfully sold to Nwaguatahihia Properties.
“I have made my investigation after which it was found that the land in question, in the Ochiokwa area, belonged to some families in Urum and not the entire community as claimed by the President-General. The owners of the land were the ones that sold it to Nwaguatahihia Properties for development, and it was legally acquired by the estate developer.
“The land belongs to families and not the entire community. Therefore, it is not in order for the President-General of the Urum community to insist that the land should not be sold when it is not a community land.
“Although a part of the land at the opposite end was revoked during former Governor Willie Obiano’s administration, it did not affect the Ochiokwa area, which was owned by some families in Urum,” he explained.
Speaking via Zoom from Awka, the estate developer, Kingsley, also dismissed the land-grabbing accusations, urging the public and the Anambra State Government to disregard the claims. Kingsley accused those spreading the allegations of attempting to disrupt Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s vision of making Anambra a peaceful and prosperous state.
He maintained that his acquisition of the land followed all legal and traditional procedures, stating, “The land was properly documented, and due process was meticulously followed. The relevant signatories have been obtained, and the process of securing the Certificate of Occupancy is well underway.”
He also refuted allegations that his purchase was unauthorised or irregular.
“Members of the community, who are the rightful owners of the land, unanimously sold it to me, and the traditional rulers of the community were present as witnesses during the transaction,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the families that sold the land, Ephraim Aniebonam, from the Uruokpala clan in Akitinyi village, Urum, confirmed that the disputed land—comprising about 1,000 plots—was their inheritance and not communal land.
Aniebonam, along with other families, expressed frustration that the President-General was insisting that the entire community had a stake in their private property.
