Illegal land sell: communities brace up for recovery of sold lands

Emeka Ibemere

On Easter Sunday 21 April, all the indigenes of both Agidiase and Agidiahe in diaspora and those at home would converge at the palace of Iyase of Ogwashi Ukwu town, in Delta State on a very topical agenda;-how to recover all the illegally lands belonging to the communities that were sold to none indigenes by one of their own sons, who also claimed to be an Iyase of Ogwashi-Uku.

The meeting was allegedly summoned under the auspices of the Iyase of Ogwashi Ukwu, Chief Mike Nwaukoni and it was held at Chief Lawrence Esedume compound.

Also backing the Easter meeting is Professor and traditional ruler in Agidiahe Quarters, HH Nwajei Chuks Nwajei, Agumba and Akaji Obi of Ogwashi-Ukwu.

According to Chief Nwajei Chuks, the meeting wasn’t going to be an ordinary one, because it’s a meeting that was going to discuss the fate of future communities concerning their ancestral lands which have been dashed out for peanuts by some land grabbers in the community with connivance of one man, identified as Chief Collins Afuwah.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Newswatch, Chief Nwajei stated that the meeting was called so that the people of Agidiase and Agidiahe would properly sit down and reflect on what has befallen on them in the last five years concerning illegal disposal of their heritage to outsiders who are not building industry in the area or employing their army of jobless youths but to build personal houses to the neglect of the area.

The community leader showed remorse in his action leading to the case, adding that he was behind the alleged illegal land dealer in the community by making him what he is today. 

“And I intend to say, like I have apologised to them, that I was the chief causes of their problem. Like I did for Collins, I helped him but I have seen his actions and have withdrawn from him. I have retraced myself from him. I have tendered my apology to Iyase of Ogwashi Ukwu and to all Ogwashi Ukwu community of Agidiehe and Agidiase”, he stated.

“But having gone to Agidiase to make peace with my mother’s people, he is from my maternal home; I was fined for having being so foolish to train such person. I have paid my fine and after paying my fine, I swore with Agidiase people, that I would assist them in the recovery of the lands”.

What sparked off the recent decision by Agidiase and Agidiahe communities to go for a dip into action for the recovery of the lands were borne out of the alleged sell of 74 acres of land owned by Agidiase and Agidiahe communities at Edo Ogwasi Ukwu, recently.

“Our anger is one; that any land sold can never be recovered ever again. And when you sell one plot of land, you have enslaved over 1000 persons not to have any land of their own. And the way they are doing it, in the next three to four years, Ogwashi Ukwu indigenes won’t have place even to farm not to talk about living”.

“This is because; the people buying the lands are coming from across the River-Niger. Building factories and not employing Ogwashi Ukwu indigenes, so there are no developments whatsoever in my community. The lands are sold by one man, Chief Collins Afuwah”.

The clarion call for all the indigenes anywhere they are under the sun to return home and fight to recover these lands was the intention of the elders of the communities as to leave a legacy for their children yet unborn.

 Nwajei told our correspondent that the recovery of the lands was not going to be war-like for according to him, both communities are peace and law abiding citizens of Nigeria.

“We are going home now, we are going to form committee, we are not going to be lawless; we are going to ask all of them that bought land to bring their documents. We know when Collins started selling our lands and the ones he sold at his time, were null and void because he wasn’t the Iyase of Ogwashi Ukwu. We are going home; we have called mass return of all Agidiase and Agidiahe quarters’ indigenes who are interested in this case to stand up now”, he added.

“It is better that we are buried now than for our children to be tenants in their own ancestral land in few years to come. So we are going to recover these lands”.

“I ‘m appealing to Agidiase community to come out en-mass because now we are going to recover all the lands sold illegally for pee nuts”. All these while, Chief Collins according to Nwajei had been parading himself as Iyase of Ogwashi Ukwu and using such positions to intimidate people and selling community lands.

“I swore with Agidiase people, that I would assist them in the recovery of the lands. And chief Nwaukoni, coming in full force to take his position as Iyase of Agidiase of Ogwashi Ukwu, we are going to constitute a committee, to go out and found out any land sold by Collins that has no blessing of Agidiase community, and those lands would be confiscated and recovered” .

“And now they have woken up. If you wake up in the evening, it is your morning. They have woken up and now are their morning. We now want to say, that those who bought Agidiase lands have bought nothing”.

To avoid backlash in the recovery of the lands, Nwajei who doubled as the spokesman for the both communities said fighting was out of it and that he believes in the competent court to fight for his rights.

“The law is very clear about it. If you are a buyer and you go and buy something that is stolen, automatically you are going to jail for it. Land is not meant for one man alone. The custom of Ogwashi Ukwu people is not for the chief to sell land. The lands are held in trust by Diokpa”, Nwajei quipped. 

We are not going to use police. We are law abiding citizens. Like they tell you that in Ogwashi Ukwu, I have more than 50 cases in court. I use the competent court of the law to fight my case. Even though the court has been compromised in Ogwashi Ukwu, I have the courage and right to transfer my cases to High courts by referring all of them to the chief judge of the Delta State for reassigning them to concurrent courts in a Delta State”.

“This is because what is happening in Ogwashi Ukwu is a clique who has infiltrated the state judiciary, the Delta police. You can see the picture of people butchered while they were in the farm. The question is; were the culprits charged? The people who perpetrated this attempted murder were not arrested nor charged even when the police were aware of the case”, he stated, “what Collins is doing is to sell our lands, give money to the police, buying them off and most of his cases are not even charged. We want the police to charge those that attacked Agidiase youths to court. I ‘m appealing to Agidiase community to come out en-mass because now we are going to recover all the lands sold illegally for pee nuts”.

 “A chief is just an errand boy and operating between the palace and the community. He has no right to sell land; even Obi Ogwashi Ukwu has no right to sell land. It was once done in Agidiahe quarters when Onei sold a land and community had to expel him from the community for over 20 years. He was there as nobody, he wasn’t coming our meetings and was not interacting with anybody and when he died, he paid his fine before could be buried. And it was sent as precedents but for Collins using tugs, intimidating people he has been able to scare a lot of people and sold their lands”.

Meanwhile, Agidi-Ehe community represented by Nwafor Okafor of Oza family, Chief Felix Eke of Ojei family, Chief Felix Iwedike of Idumu-Ogbu family, Mr J B U Onwuemezie, Nwadiokpa of Agidi-Ehe Quarters and Hilary Ashibuogwu of Umu-Moko family for themselves and on behalf of Agidi-Ehe Quarters, Ogwashi Uku in suit No. 0/9/2014, in the High Court of Justice, Delta State of Nigeria and in the Ogwashi Uku Judiciary Division, Holden at Ogwashi Uku  have instituted a court action against Chief Collins Afuwah, the Iyase of Ogwashi Uku, Chief Lawrence Osedume, Diokpa of Agidiase, M N Ofili, Chief Awucha Igbokei, Nwike Mogekwu, Hon. Ani Arueze, Oyie Nwafor and Mr Nneanuzia Eze Adizi on behalf of Agidase-Ese Quarters, Ogwashi Uku to court over the troubled land on the Edo- Ogwashi Uku road on the Benin/Asaba Express Way. But in a twist, the second defendant in the case, Chief Lawrence Osedume, took an affidavit on oath in the case. In his affidavit made available to our correspondent, the 2nd defendant’s statement of defence admitted in paragraph 3 of the statement posited by claimants that the communal land holding system in Ogwashi Uku was that of Diokpa in consultation with the chiefs and not the chiefs in consultation with the Diokpa holding the land in trust for the quarters. He also stated in an affidavit taking on oath on 14 April, 2014, and admits in paragraph 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 of statement of claim. According to the affidavit, he denied that the 1^st defendant was a chief in Agidiase quarter in Ogwashi Uku. He also admitted that the Iyase of Ogwashi Uku is Chief Mike C Nwaukone. He admits in also in paragraph 14 of the statement of claim that if the 1^st defendant trespassed into other people’s land that it is without their consent and authority as a quarter.

Equally, he admits in affidavit in paragraph 15 of the statement of claim that the 1^st defendant has agents whom he called ‘boys’ that are always around him. Finally, the Diokpa, admitted in paragraph 18 of the statement of claims and said that Agidiase quarter has no interest over any land on the left side of old Edo-Ogwashi Uku Road while going to Benin./Asaba Express Way.

According to the Diokpa, in his affidavit, “that I’m the 2^nd Defendant herein and by virtue of which I am conversant with the facts of the case. That I’m the Diokpa of Agidiase Quarters, in Ogwashi Uku”, the affidavit reads.

“That Diokpa of Agidiase Quarter in Ogwashi Uku dialect means the Head of Agidiase which is known as the oldest man in Agidiase Quarter. That by virtue of 3 above, I have the consent and authority of Agidiase quarter to depose to this affidavit on their behalf”. According to the affidavit, the Diokpa said before he became Diokpa of Agidiase, that he was a traditional chief in Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom. He disclosed that Agidiehe and Agidiase quarters were from the same parent known as Adaigbo, the founder of Ogwashi Uku. He revealed in the affidavit that by virtue of paragraph six, that both quarters do things in common without any rancour. “That from time immemorial, Agidiase and Agidiahe farm together in the same area of lands without any common boundary but that upon that each quarters know its limitation”, Diokpa swore. “That the control and management of lands structure in Ogwashi-Uku, as applicable to Agidiase quarter is under the Diokpa as the head, the chiefs and the land committee and that it is a known facts that in the recent time, the 1^st defendant has arrogated so much powers to himself by forming a killer squad for himself against Agidiase quarter, an attitude that was never existed from any of his predecessors”.

According to the respected old man, the 1^st defendant’s squad could forcefully trespass into land with impunity and dispose it off. “That the land trespassed by the 1^st defendant belongs to Agidiahe quarter and not for Agidiase quarter and that there is no time Agidiase quarter authorized anybody, agent or whosoever to trespass on Agidiehe quarter’s land”.

He concluded his oath by stating that the 1^st defendant should be held liable for the consequences of his action on Agidiehe quarter’s land. “That I depose to this affidavit conscientiously believing the same to be true and correct in accordance with the Oaths law”, Chief, Diokpa Lawrence Osedume concluded.

Before the court action, Diokpa in Council of Agidiahe on February 8, 2014, wrote a letter to Chief Afuwah.

The letter entitled: ‘Letter of warning to desist from further violence with arms and thugs to harass and attempt to carve Agidiehe land at Edo Ogwashi-Uku with the purpose of illegally selling same without authorization’, also made available to Daily Newswatch, and was signed by Chief G B U Onwuemezie and Chief Felix Eke on behalf of Agidiehe community and copied to the Obi of Ogwashi Uku, Delta State Commissioner of Police, Ogwashi Uku Development Union, ODU, The Diokpa of Agidiase quarters, Ogwashi Uku, Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Ogwashi Uku, the Director of State Security Service, through the station officer, Ogwashi Uku and the Director State Investigation Bureau Officer, Ogwashi Uku, asked Chief Collins to stop encroaching on their lands and leave the land owners their land. “Please allow us to live our lives and attend to our affairs as best as we can as we cannot hobnob in Agidiase affairs, too”, Agidiehe pleaded in their letter to Afuwah. “We wish to inform you that numerous Iyase have come and gone and you are now at the saddle, we have never had any quarrels over the Edo land and we really wish it will never happen in future.”

The Diokpa in Council reminded Afuwah that in the history of both communities, Chiefs were never the custodian of land issues and never will be. The letter stated that chiefs are just a go-between-the people and the Obi’s palace.  “We further wish to draw your attention to some of your associates and people who are close to you who visited our Edo land with pump-action- guns and numbering over ten in a convoy threatening our tenants and claiming you sent them. They were captured in photo and we shall relay on that as a threat of violence.” According to the letter, Afuwah was accused of telling one Mr Awucha Igbokei, that Agidiehe have no land at Edo and that he was quoted to have said that he was going to bring bulldozers to carve the Agidiehe land for sale, which they saw as a declaration of war on Agidiehe community and people. In their letter, they made it point to Afuwah that they weren’t going to fold their hands and see their lands sold by Afuwah. “We have neither guns nor thugs who intimidate and hack people in the bush but we have right and history to guide us,” the letter continued. “We are appealing to you, to please resist the temptation to encroach into our Edo portion of the land as you have no justification to do so for Agidiehe and Agidiase have coexisted for thousands of years as blood brothers. We have since also briefed our lawyers for their instructions and possible actions”.

In his own reaction and reply to the letter, dated 19 February, 2014, Onusogu Aninye, Secretary, Agidiase community, who wrote signed from the Diokpa Agidiase, stated that the content and motive of Agidiehe community was not clear on the subject matter but rather that the only facts deducible from it was that those who signed and the delegates were accepted to be used to truncate the peaceful co-existence between the two communities of Agidiehe and Agidiase. He wrote: “like the biblical saying of Isaac, the voice is that of Esau while the body is of Jacob, that is, the ideas expressed in your letter are those of Udene Nwajei while you acted the messenger,” the letter explained further. “Having thus observed, we want to draw you through memory lane by: EHE and ASE, our great ancestors taught us to be peaceful cohabiters of our individual lands”. Agidiase Secretary in his letter admitted that both share common boundaries but that, as he puts it; “ours is ours while yours belong to you.”

According to the reply letter, “it is an inconvertible fact that our boundary is nowhere close to Edo village which was founded by Uti Iyase, however, the Iyase’s response or message through your emissaries was that our elders would get into the matter with a view to defining the real boundaries. You appear therefore, too much in haste by preferring this insulting letter instead”. In an apparent claim for Edo land, the alleged Iyase said there was an Egbo tree somewhere between Edo Ogwashi-Uku and Ani-Agbala/ Ani Agbor and Ani Nwalo axis which, he said marked their common boundaries. But that Chief Nwajei whom he called Udene bulldozed it because of his alleged acquisition for sale of land. This is borne out by the facts of history that Agidiase from time immemorial produced the Okwanabi of Edo Ogwashi, and the Okwabani is under the Iyase.  You appear to be a little ignorant of ‘true Ogwashi-Uku history’, contrary to your assertion; Chiefs indeed are the custodian of Ogwashi Uku lands and holds same in trust for them”, Chief Collins wrote.

“In your letter, several Iyases have come and gone...we never had any quarrels over Edo land, yes, you must in line with this, note that never did Agidiehe contest Edo land during the reign of any Iyase before the present Iyase”. Indeed your forefathers knew and respected Agidiase as the true owners of Edo land. This will not change in the time of the present Iyase”. Summarizing his letter, Chief Collins said Agidiase want peace between them and their Agidiahe brothers whether Chief Nwajei and his cohorts liked it or not. He accused the people of Agidiehe of taking the Diokpa of Agidiase and some of his subjects to a ‘juju’.

 “This is in addition to copying your letter under reference to organizations outside Ogwashi Uku kingdom. Our minds tell us that by these actions, you are more warlike and distasteful of a peaceful resolution of this matter. We shall continue to trail and try to give adequate and reasonable responses to your gimmicks”, Agidiase Secretary stated in his letter to Agidiehe.

“Once again, we want peace between our two communities but certainly not at the expense of any inch of our land. To be forewarned is to be forearmed”. In his reply to Chief Collins, Professor Nwajei Chuks Nwajei, Agumba and Akaji Obi of Ogwashi-Ukwu told Chief Collins in his reply dated March 3, 2014 and was in the possession of Daily Newswatch, told Collins that he should stop selling Agidiase and Agidiehe land. He advised him to stop turning the youths of Ogwashi Uku into thud and kidnappers adding that such venture would make them to resort to stealing and go for higher crimes.  “Why not sponsor these youths to school or to learn trades, do not criminalize them for they are the future of Ogwashi Uku,” Nwajei stated. “Crime pays for a little time, not for long time. Those policemen and women you are using will one of these days arrest and send you to jail”.

The traditional ruler and Academics urged Chief Collins to disband his thugs adding that if he failed to do that; that he, Nwajei would assist him with the help of the laws of the country to disband them. He asked the embattled Chief to stop his false petition writing and scheming as true leaders doesn’t send their subjects to prison or remand them in police cells.

“Without the fear of God, just because one neither has the power nor knows crooked people in the authority that will assist him to persecute the innocent are not ideal”, he added.

“Stop your unjust levies against your people for power is short but memories are long. You have stepped on toes of the windows, orphans and the poor; you have sold what never belonged to you, brother, stop roping people like me” on your dirt’s. I ‘m not so hungry to be part of any dirty deals on land”