Land Dispute: Ebonyi Community Petitions Governor Nwifuru Over Killings

The people of Umuobor, Akaeze community in the Ivo local government area of Ebonyi State, have petitioned the state governor, Francis Nwifuru, over the alleged abduction and killings of about nine members of the community in the land dispute between them and their Ogwor neighbours in the local government.

The community also called on the state commissioner of police, Adaku Uche-Anya, to, without further delay, ensure the arrest and prosecution of the killers of the members of the community.

It would be recalled that the people of Umuobor and Ogwor communities have been at war for over five decades following a dispute over a vast fertile land known as Elueke which has claimed many lives with properties worth billions of naira destroyed.

There have been several court judgements and government interventions in a bid to resolve the lingering crisis, but the crisis has remained unabated.

The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that the Elueke land belongs to Umuobor village, but shortly after the latest ruling, the war took a more dangerous dimension last year, which led to the killings of several persons, destruction of properties and alleged abductions of youths and women by the both communities.

Angered by the killings, Governor Nwifuru, in a stakeholders meeting between the two warring communities, recently threatened that the state government will take over the disputed land and declared it a buffer zone.

Umuobor people in the petition through their lawyer, Chief Mike Ahamba, (SAN) and made available to LEADERSHIP, alleged that nine members of the community were still missing and feared dead.

They listed some members of the community killed in the crisis as John Chukwueke, Okaru Okoro and Sunday Eleke and urged the state commissioner of police to investigate their killings and prosecute those behind the dastardly act.

The petition reads in part, “Your Excellency, many people have in recent days been killed with nine people missing and feared dead. Some of the people confirmed killed are ; John Chukwueke, Okaru Okoro and Sunday Eleke.

“Your Excellency, why the perpetrators of these heinous acts of disobedience culminating in multiple acts of murders are not arrested by the police, is beyond my understanding.

“My very humble request is that you use your good offices to impress it on the security agencies in your state and the Chairman of the local government of the need to get Ogwor people to appreciate that the dispute has ended by the Supreme Court decision instead of sharing of the land their point of settlement.

“The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides in Section 287(1) this: ‘The decision of the Supreme Court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons, and by Courts of subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court.’

“Your Excellency, your government is one such authority in that State. Fortunately, you are a Lawyer.

“It is also very necessary that you call on the Commissioner of Police to be very proactive in these circumstances. Failure to enforce this judgement by due process, will set a very nasty precedent for the future”.