Aba-Unor Community Rebuts Allegations of Illegal Land Sales, Accuses Ogwashi-Uku Monarch of Deliberate Misrepresentation of facts
The Aba-Unor community in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State has strongly denied allegations of illegal land sales and encroachment, describing claims made by the palace of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku as “a cocktail of lies and deception.”
In a detailed press statement issued on March 15, 2026, the traditional ruler of Aba-Unor, His Royal Majesty Obi I. N. Maduabunachukwu, said the allegations—published in an online platform on February 28—were misleading and aimed at distorting verifiable facts surrounding a land dispute.
The statement follows earlier concerns raised by the Aba-Unor monarch, who had called on government and security agencies to intervene over what he described as “violent encroachment” on Aba-Unor land.
Dispute Over Court Judgment
Central to the controversy is Suit No. O/5/2006, which the Ogwashi-Uku palace claims granted ownership of the disputed land—currently housing the Soarstar College of Nursing Sciences—to trustees of a proposed Anioma University of Science and Technology.
However, the Aba-Unor monarch rejected this claim, stating that none of the parties involved in the case represented Aba-Unor or its constituent quarters.
“It is crystal clear that Aba-Unor community was never a party to the suit,” the statement said, challenging the Ogwashi-Uku palace to provide any legal document proving otherwise.
Claim of Shared Ownership
According to Aba-Unor, evidence presented during the trial acknowledged that part of the land in question belonged to both Ogwashi-Uku and Aba-Unor communities.
The statement cited court testimony indicating that the land earmarked for the proposed university included areas farmed and owned by the Ogbe-Uzu Quarter of Aba-Unor.
“This directly contradicts claims that Aba-Unor has no ownership beyond the Atache stream,” the monarch said.
Legitimacy of Claims Questioned
The Aba-Unor ruler also questioned the authority of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku to act on behalf of the proposed university, noting that he is neither a trustee nor legally substituted in the original suit after the death of his father, who was a defendant.
The statement added that an application seeking to challenge the execution of the judgment on Aba-Unor land is still pending in court and has not been determined.
Allegations of Destruction and Lawlessness
The community further accused individuals allegedly linked to the Ogwashi-Uku palace of carrying out demolitions on the disputed land, including structures at the College of Nursing Sciences, despite ongoing legal proceedings.
Such actions, the statement argued, undermine claims by the Ogwashi-Uku leadership that it respects the rule of law.
Historical Context
Providing historical context, the Aba-Unor monarch said the disputed land had been the subject of earlier conflicts involving neighbouring communities, dating back to the 1980s and 1990s, without any ownership claims from Ogwashi-Uku at the time.
He described the current claims as a “latter-day contraption” driven by land-grabbing motives.
Call for Public Caution
The Aba-Unor community urged members of the public to disregard what it described as false narratives and to rely on verified court records.
“As facts are sacred and history will always vindicate the just, we are confident that this attempt to annex our land will ultimately fail,” the statement concluded.
The dispute remains unresolved, with legal proceedings ongoing and tensions between the two communities drawing attention from stakeholders across Delta State.
Excerpt
PRESS RELEASE
“ALLEGATIONS OF ILLEGAL LAND SALES, AMONGST OTHERS, MADE AGAINST ABA-UNOR COMMUNITY IN AN ONLINE PUBLICATION
BY THE OBI OF OGWASHI-UKU – RESPONSE TO A COCKTAIL
OF LIES AND DECEPTION
For myself and on behalf of the good people of Aba-Unor community in Delta State, I wish, for the sake of posterity and unsuspecting members of the public, to respond to the claims and allegations made by the palace of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku on the 28th day of February, 2026 in Olopa, an online publication. The publication was made in response to my earlier press conference at which I called on the Government and security operatives to urgently intervene to avert a breakdown of law and order due to the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku’s violent encroachment on the land of my Aba-Unor community.
In the said publication, Obi Ifechukwude Aninshi Okonjo II and his palace specifically alleged that:
at the centre of the controversy is the land currently occupied by Soarstar College of Nursing Sciences which the palace insists forms part of property conclusively awarded to the Trustees of the proposed Anioma University of Science and Technology, Ogwashi-Uku in Suit No. O/5/2006;
the litigation survey plan tendered and relied upon by the court in determining the said suit clearly shows the boundary between Ogwashi-Uku and Aba-Unor as the Atache stream and any claim by Aba-Unor to any land before the river from the Ogwashi-Uku end contradicts the documentary evidence placed before the court and already adjudicated upon;
despite losing in court and failing in attempts to set aside the judgment, certain individuals in Aba-Unor have begun offering portions of the land for sale to estate developers; and
his kingdom believes in the Rule of Law and the Trustees reaffirm their readiness to take all lawful steps necessary to protect the land and ensure
that the sanctity of the judiciary is preserved.
For people not used to the present Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and/or his palace’s penchant for misrepresenting facts in order to mislead members of the public, this is their opportunity to see and know them for who they truly are. Seeing through their smokescreen in this case is made very easy by the fact that court processes, proceedings and judgments are documented and their contents easily verifiable.
WHO WERE THE PARTIES TO SUIT NUMBER O/5/2006?
All the parties to Suit No. O/5/2006: MR. CHARLES OBINGA & 4 OTHERS V. PROF. CHUKWUKA OKONJO & 4 OTHERS, as can be gleaned from the first page of the judgment in the said suit delivered on 29/3/2012 by Hon. Justice Anthony O. Akpovi, are:
(1) MR. CHARLES OBINGA; (2) MR. ANDREW ODASI; (3) MR. PATRICK OSIM; (4) MR. EMMANUEL ADIGWE; and (5) MR. EDWARD OBINGA who were the plaintiffs/claimants and sued for themselves and on behalf of the Akuna-Kehe family of Ogbe-Akehe Quarters of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State of Nigeria
AND
(1) PROF. CHUKWUKA OKONJO; (2) CHIEF P.O.C. OZIEH (Alias Poco); (3) PROF. OSELOKA OSAMMOR; (4). MR. OKAFOR ESEALUKA (acting Okwabani of Olloh, Ogwashi-Uku); and (5) MR. OGALONYE EGWU as the defendants.
The said 1st – 3rd defendants were sued for themselves and on behalf of the committee of the proposed Anioma University of Science and Technology, Olloh, Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State and Chief P. O. C. Ozieh (the 2nd defendant) was, upon his death, substituted with Chief Nduka Mike Okwechime, a native of Ibusa and retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army who was the Chairman of the Nigerian Football Association at a time in the past.
From the above-stated list of the parties to the said suit, it is crystal clear
that none of them is a member of Aba-Unor community and that none of them sued or was sued on behalf of Ogbe-Uzu Quarter of Aba-Unor or my Aba-Unor community as a whole.
I therefore challenge the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and his palace to tell the world why and how they came about their assertion that Aba-Unor community was a party to the said suit or lost in court by producing any court process in the case which shows that Aba-Unor community or any of her component quarters or people was a party to same.
WAS THERE ANY ADMISSION/CONCESSION BY THE PARTIES TO THE SAID SUIT THAT A PORTION OF THE LAND DONATED FOR THE SITING OF THE PROPOSED ANIOMA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, OLLOH, OGWASHI-UKU BELONGS TO OR WAS DONATED ABA-UNOR COMMUNITY?
The answer to this question cannot but be a resounding “YES”. This is so as the 5th defendant, a prominent and knowledgeable member of Ogwashi-Uku Community reputed for his fearlessness and who held the Uwolloh of Ogwashi-Uku traditional chieftaincy title before he died, testified, as the learned trial Judge recapitulated at pages 7 – 8 of the judgment in the suit, that he is the one who took Surveyor Joseph to the land where the proposed University was to be sited and showed him the boundaries of the land for him to produce the survey plan of the land and that the land acquired by the University is owned by five quarters in Ogwashi-Uku and Aba-Unor, a town in Nsukwa Clan and that Ogbe-Uzor (correctly spelt “Ogbe-Uzu) family in Aba-Unor town are among the people that farm on the land.
The foregoing is crystal clear in the judgment in Suit No. O/5/2006 and yet the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and his palace claim that all the land in the survey plan belongs to Ogwashi-Uku community and that Aba-Unor community does not own any land beyond Atache stream/river.
What mischief!
IS THE PRESENT OBI OF OGWASHI-UKU A TRUSTEE OF THE PROPOSED UNIVERSITY AND DID THE COURT GRANT HIS APPLICATION TO BE SUBSTITUTED FOR HIS LATE FATHER (1ST DEFENDANT) IN THE SUIT?
The answer to the said questions is an emphatic “NO”! Obi Ifechukwude Okonjo is not one of the trustees of the University for whose use in establishing the university the land was donated. Not being one of the trustees of the proposed university, his claim/posturing that he is acting for the proposed University is as mischievous as it is misleading.
Knowing that all the trustees of the board of the proposed University had died when he applied to execute the judgment in the said suit, he prayed for an order of court to substitute him for his late father, Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo (the 1st defendant), but the court refused this prayer.
With the refusal of this prayer, the present Obi of Ogwashi-Uku cannot legitimately claim to be acting for the university and it is therefore uncharitable and misleading for him to do so or be purporting to protect its interest in the land.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE LAND DONATED BY ABA-UNOR COMMUNITY UPON THE FAILURE OF THE OBJECT FOR WHICH IT WAS DONATED?
With the death of all the members of the Board of Trustees of the proposed University and/or the non-establishment of the University, the land donated for the purpose by Ogbe-Uzu Quarter, Aba-Unor or my Aba-Unor community as a whole cannot but revert to her. This is so as she did not donate her land to Ogwashi-Uku community or Olloh–Ogwashi-Uku or for their use and occupation or for them to expand their territory.
As such, with the reversion of the land, Ogbe-Uzu Quarter of my community continued in her ownership and possession of the land as she was only obliged to vacate same upon the establishment of the University and the commencement of its structural development.
Amongst the various acts of ownership and possession Ogbe-Uzu Quarter of
my community exercised over the land without challenge or objection by anybody whatsoever is the sale of various portions of same to some estate development companies and the proprietor of the Soarstar School of Nursing Sciences, Aba-Unor.
Knowing that the land did not belong to their Ogwashi-Uku community, her members, whose reputation for not letting anyone tamper with, let alone, take what belongs to them is legendary, did and said nothing to stop the construction of the said school throughout the period of over two years that it took to build same and admit students therein.
DID OGBE-UZU QUARTER FAIL IN ITS ATTEMPT TO HAVE THE JUDGMENT SET ASIDE?
The answer is “NO”! Firstly, Ogbe-Uzu Quarter or Aba-Unor community as a whole has never applied to set aside the judgment in the said suit. The one and only application the people of Ogbe-Uzu Quarter, Aba-Unor or Aba-Unor community as a whole filed in the suit is a motion to set aside the execution of the judgment in Suit No. O/5/2006 on their land dated 23/10/2025 but filed on 4/11/2025 by the chambers of C. O. Erondu, S.A.N. The application is yet to be heard and is presently adjourned to 26/3/2026.
As words always lose their meanings in the mouths of the present Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and his palace, it is not difficult to see how a person would lose an application that is yet to be heard and is still pending for hearing.
IS IT TRUE THAT THE OBI OF OGWASHI-UKU AND HIS PALACE BELIEVE IN OR RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW?
From the foregoing narrative, your answer is as good as mine. These are people who, under the cover and protection of some unsuspecting policemen, went to the premises of the said School of Nursing Sciences and those of other persons that derived their title from Ogbeuzu Quarter, Aba-Unor to destroy their fences, buildings and sundry structures despite the pendency of the said application to set aside the execution of the judgment
in Suit No. O/5/2006 on Ogbeuzu land. This is a traditional ruler that is the 2nd plantiff in Suit No. ASACC/118/2024 pending at the Aniocha South Area Customary Court, Ogwashi-Uku wherein he is claiming ownership of the land where the said School of Nursing is located, amongst others, as the property of Ogwashi-Uku community and instead of filing the litigation survey plan he applied for and got an order of court on 7/7/2025 to prepare and file, went clandestinely to apply for the execution of the said judgment knowing that the order would be sought and granted Ex-Parte! This is a traditional ruler who, having seen the mountain he has to climb to prove his claim of ownership of the same land in the said suit at the Customary Court decided to follow the devious route to anarchy by resorting to the execution of the said judgment and the litany of bare-faced lies he has been cooking up to cover his tracks.
For the records, it is worth stating that the land the present Obi of Ogwashi-Uku is claiming from Ogbe-Uzu people of Aba-Unor is the same land that Ogbe-Uzu people of Aba-Unor and the people of Umuoma Quarter of Isheagu fought over in court and otherwise in the 1980s and 1990s leading to the murder of the Ikwelle of Aba-Unor, a member of Ogbe-Uzu Quarter, on a portion of same and the eventual setting up of a panel of some respected traditional rulers and Chiefs of defunct Bendel State, including the former Iyase/traditional Prime Minister of Ogwashi-Uku, Chief Charles Nwafor Anumonwo, to mediate in the dispute and resolve same amicably.
If the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku’s claim that the land belongs to his community is not a latter-day contraption fuelled by land-grabbing instincts, why did Ogwashi-Uku not stake a claim to the ownership of the land back then?
As facts are sacred and history will always vindicate the just, my good and peace-loving people and I are confident that the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku’s present attempt to annex the land of Ogbe-Uzu Quarter of my community is tantamount to sailing against the wind and a blind gamble that would
ultimately fail like all other ill-conceived, unlawful and unjust adventures.
Dated this 15th day of March, 2026.”
_______________________________
H.R.M. OBI I. N. MADUABUNACHUKWU
(The Obi/Traditional Ruler of Aba-Unor,
Delta State)
