By Chinelo Ogbodo (Enugu State Correspondent)
The law suit on land grabbing brought by the people of Umuatugbu Oma, a small community in Nkanu West Local Government of Enugu State against the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation (ESHDC) and the State Ministry of Lands and Urban Development on March 4, 2025, before Hon. Justice Ajah, took a new turn as the presiding judge vacated his earlier injunction on the disputed land at Ofiaukwu.
The injunction equally came when the new lead counsel for the defendants, Barrister Ikechukwu Onuoma (SAN), requested for "a step down" of the case for out of court settlement. Justice Aja, in consultation with counsels for both parties (Chief Fidelis Mbadugha, SAN for the plaintiff) and Bar lkechukwu Onuoma SAN, for the defendants), agreed and ruled in favour of the out-of-court settlement option and had to adjourn the case till 19th May 2025 for a feedback on the settlement.
Before this development, the presiding judge (Justice Ajah) had told the court that he was vacating his earlier injunction on the land on ground of "an error in law" which was entered without the prayer of the plaintiff and majorly on allegations and pressure that he gave the injunction on the influence of the plaintiff.
The objections by the counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Fidelis Mbadugha, SAN, was however over ruled with an appeal by the judge, Justice Ajah, to both counsels to go and settle the matter out of court or come back on 19th May with a feedback on settlement or even continue with the matter in his court.
The defendant's counsel, Barrister Ikechukwu Onuoma, SAN equally observed that though his clients may have made some mistakes or failed to follow due process in entering into the land in Umuatugbu Oma in the first instance, but expressed optimism that all would be settled out of court.
It would be recalled that on the 30th January this year when the matter first came up for hearing before Justice Ajah, the counsel to the defendant, Dr Anayo Ede Esq., in his defence statement made in reply to Umuatugbu Oma, claimed that the head of various families that signed an MOU and donated the land to his clients in question were each given the sum of N10 million as compensation, and in addition, the sum of N120,000 as monetization for "traditional " ikpa nri ani".
Equally, there was the malicious allegations that his clients came into the land as a saving grace for the people of Umuatugbu Oma from the hands of kidnappers and terrorists who had taken over the land as their operational base. They justified this claim by their purported publication in the Daily Sun newspaper online portal of 7th July 2024, headlined : "Community Hails Dr Peter Mba For Taking Over Community Land For Mass Housing Estates".
Enquiry into this matter by the people of Umuatugbu Oma however proved that the matter and names mentioned (Philip Nnam and Val Okoh) in the matter were never known in Umuatugbu Oma as indigenes or tenants but mere fakes elements acting as "419" with some disgruntled persons in the community to defraud the people of Umuatugbu Oma of their long term heritage.
Efforts to make the state housing agency, the major actors in this matter to see reason and vacate from the land, led to the current law suit in this case.
Umuatugbu Oma as a community had never failed or been against relating with government in the past with good developmental projects, but most often , on mutual interest, and with a common understanding for the good of all.
The brute force with which the Enugu State Housing Corporation acquired this land is currently the bone of contention and the reason why the people of Umuatugbu Oma are now crying for justice.
"Our land is never inhabited by terrorists or kidnappers as claimed". It was just a mere "bad name" given as a basis to forcefully take over the land from the community and worst of it all by a private housing estate developers that in turn might choose to sell the same lands to the highest bidders.
The Umuatugbu Oma, as a small community in Awkunanaw area of Enugu State and the least in terms of land mass and this land acquisition, "will put our children and next generation in difficulty on where to live.
The people of Umuatugbu Oma, through their lead counsel, Chief Fidelis Mbadugha, SAN, had, late last year (2024), dragged the Enugu State Government and it's agency, the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation (ESHDC), the State Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development and their agents to court over the alleged forceful take over of their land, allegedly and without due process and established protocol in Umuatugbu Oma.
Recall too that serious tension had brewed in Enugu state early August last year when the government, through it's housing corporation and in collaboration with the Enugu state Ministry of Lands, forcefully took over the massive Ofiaukwû ancestral land belonging to the Umuatugbu Oma, a near Nkanu West community to the Enugu metropolis.
For several weeks running, the small community drew battle with the State Government and it's housing agency over the alleged land grabbing of their ancestral land located at Onu Nyama. The community contends that the ancestral property in question is a heritage from their ancestors for their children and posterity.
The aggrieved community was highly miffed that it was a ploy by the Enugu State Government's agency known as the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation (ESHDC) to crudely acquire their land which, according to them, the ESHDC allegedly labeled as "a den for kidnappers and terrorists", a comment the community found offensive and had viewed as "malicious" against them, just to give the state government a smooth sail to achieve their acquisition intention.
However, some representatives of the entire Umuatugbu Oma community namely: Dr Josephat Ani, Chief Anthony Ogbodo, Chief Ezekiel Ogbodo, Chief Earnest Nwobodo, Elder Michael Ewo and Mr Onyekachi Ogbodo, had maintained that there was never a time the people of Umuatugbu Oma, as landlord of the said land, jointly entered into any agreement/Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to wilfully donate the said hectares of land, as claimed by the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation (ESHDC).
They equally argued that the alleged malicious allegations by elders Philip Nnam and Val. Okoh, who they, again, confirmed as "unknown" and who claimed that the land was given out willingly to the Enugu State government to secure the community against the nefarious activities by the so-called criminals in the area, was totally untrue and a mere conspiracy by the alleged desperate grabbers to trade off the land to the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation, ESHDC.
They further stated that the "green vegetation and the land was never a den for kidnappers and terrorists. This claim is a malicious and negative indictment on the good people of Umuatugbu Oma.
It is on record that in the past, the Umuatugbu Oma community had made land donations to the government for public purposes. Such land donations, were for the building of two schools, hospitals and other social infrastructures for the welfare of both the community and the government.
They stated that in each of the projects, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Umuatugbu Oma community and the government or the concerned agency, were often entered into and signed by the two parties. NNL.
