Twice Kidnapped 72-year Old Community Leader Narrates Ordeal

zo Ozoemena Okeke, a 72-year-old resident of Umbanano in Enugwu-Agidi, Njikoka local government area of Anambra State, has revealed that he is enduring a double tragedy stemming from his efforts to resolve a decades-long communal land dispute between his community and the neighbouring Ezinano community in Awka South local government area.

He told newsmen yesterday that an influential leader of Ezinano community, Ozo Jeff Nweke approached his people and offered to broker peace between his Ezinano and their Umunano people over the communal land.

He said that because he welcomed Ozo Nweke’s peace gesture, he started mobilising his people to embrace the peace initiatives.

Okeke lamented that since then he had been kidnapped twice and that currently those who are opposed to his efforts have successfully hatched a plot and gotten him and three other persons who are supporting his peace efforts excommunicated by his immediate Obuagu-Achalla village people of Umunano clan. Those excommunicated along with him included his immediate successor in office as chairman of Obuagu-Achalla village, Linus Okaka Igbakwu, Eric Onwubu and Chimaobi Okonkwo.

He bemoaned that they had been barred from attending village meetings, burials, and any event organised at the village level.

Ozo Okeke, who is currently grappling with serious health challenges, including high blood pressure, has alleged that a group of individuals from the four villages comprising their Mbanano clan—Obuagu-Achalla, Ivite, Uruobieli, and

Igbollo—is responsible for his ordeal. He specifically pointed out that Mr. Emeka Ementa, the incumbent chairman of his own village, Obinagu-Achalla, is a member of this group.

He alleged that as part of the plot to intimidate him to stop his support for Ozo Nweke’s peace initiatives, a team of police personnel had stormed his house on investigation that a petition was brought against him that he was a gun-runner and that he was terrorising his villagers.

He said after the police investigations found out that he was innocent, the leader of the team told him that the petition against him was written by his own people.

He, however, said that when the plot to rope him in as a gun-runner failed, his adversaries sponsored kidnappers after him. He said that he was first kidnapped sometime in October 2023 at about 4pm and was later released at about 11pm after his abductors who were told that he had so much money found that he had only N21,000 in his bank account. He further said that he was again abducted sometime in August this year and was later released after three days.

Ozo Okeke asserted that Ementa and his group, which includes individuals from the other three villages that make up the Mbanano community—Ivite, Uruobieli, and Igbollo—were opposed to the peace initiatives. According to him, their opposition stems from the fact that they have been benefiting from the ongoing communal land dispute.

He alleged that Ementa and his group have sold many parcels of the community land, and never accounted for the money realised, adding that they have also allocated several plots of the land to themselves.

Ozo Okeke commended the peace initiative of Ozo Jeff Nweke and vowed that he would he would stop at nothing to make sure that his people embraced the peace initiative.

When contacted, Mr. Ementa described Ozo Okeke as a sell-out, enemy of their village and, a person lacking any integrity.

Ementa said that the communal land in dispute is known as “Agu-Nawgu”. He said that the dispute between his Ubunano community and their Ezinano community neighbours was decided in favour of his community (Mbanano) by the West African Court of Appeal (WACA) during the pre- independence era.

He, said, that the people of Ezinano later initiated another action in Court over the communal land, and, that a High Court of Anambra State decided the case in favour of his community. He, said, that Ezinano community appealed against the High Court judgement, but, that the Court of Appeal in June 2020 decided the appeal in favour of his community.

He said that Ozo Okeke was never kidnapped saying that he faked his kidnap.

Ementa also said that the village excommunicated him after warning him several times to stop working against the community’s interest regarding the disputed Agu-Nawgu communal land.

He appealed to the Anambra State government to quickly intervene to enforcement the boundary demarcation already created between his people and Ezinano community to avert possible escalation of the communal land dispute.