Land Tussle: Ideani President-General Sends Armed Men Against Family

By Chuks Collins, 

Awka, Feb 20,2023

The fragile peace in Ideani community, Idemili North Council area of Anambra State is now under serious threat by the actions of the President General, Chief Paul Okoye. 

Okoye, according to eye witnesses had sent thugs and armed vigilantes to chase away and stop the land owners from access to the land known as Ana Ezi Orji (aka offia Iyiogu) located at Nsokwe village, overlooking the Abatete-Ideani Highway, which they are currently fencing before Okoye's men struck. 

The visibly angry land owners in their reaction vide a press statement backed by series of letters between them and the Ideani Development Union (IDU)/Eze-in-Council that traversed forty-three (43) years period in an attempt to get a valid formal agreement between the two parties expressed their dismay at Okoye. 

According to the statement, the Nwankwo Okpala/Nwolisa family of Nsokwe village noted that "regarding the open, unnecessary challenge by some hired thugs and village urchins who claimed to have been sent the PG over our Family land (Ana Ezi Orji) situate at Nsokwe village, Ideani overlooking the Ideani-Abatete Highway, we have been pressed to the wall. This has given rise to huge misinformation, youthful exuberance and intimidation of our family by the President General of Ideani Community, Chief Paul Okoye, his sponsors/godfathers and other faceless individuals.

"With due respect, we need to raise some very germaine issues staring Ideani in the face that have apparently not caught the attention of the PG and his puppeteers.

It's on record that he has never made any conscious attempt to reach us(the family, our consultants and or representatives)in relation to the Ana Ezi Orji where a failed attempt by the Ideani community was made in the past to lease to build a Post Office more than four decades ago. The project, we believe failed due to lack of funds, and political will on the part of the Community. So after so many years of inaction we foreclosed any further foot dragging, discussion or negotiation on the matter. We communicated all these in writing years ago to them. It's our view that what could not happen in the past forty-three years would not likely happen now.  

Consequently, Ideani community which held unto our land since 1981 (43 years) having displayed clear lack of interest/will, as well as the financial muscle to see the project through, cannot in any stretched of imagination suddenly wake up from her prolonged slumber to lay claim to the land where no contract ever existed.

We are in good conscience making this matter public to enable all real and imagined interested persons, real or imagined friends and foes to come out open, or forever keep quiet in the interest of peace and good neighborliness. 

"We will no longer tolerate any further interference, trespass or distractions by anyone or group of persons on the said land, as we have chosen to develop same, beginning with erecting walls round it.

We hereby alert all citizens to stay away from the land and to stop disturbing, threatening or harassing our workers in any way. Also, those currently sent to plant charms, fetish objects, omu, signposts, etc by anyone should in their own interest stop such forthwith and keep off. 

"We caution that Security agencies have been duly briefed accordingly as we have resolved to proceed with the development of the entire land area. And any unauthorized person/s seen in or loitering around that parcel of land will surely be arrested forthwith.

"The President General and his puppeteers should note that the aborted post office project was conceived to be sited in only a marked portion of about 10% area of the land. So, assuming without conceding that there was a claim, was that enough reason to prevent us access to the entire land area? Right from when we moved back into the land and started farming on it why hasn't the PG and or his goons said anything, until we begin to effect its walling.

"Again has the community leadership under the headship of the PG approached the Nwankwo Okpala/Nwolisa family over the land formally or informally other than these intimidation antics?

"Was the PG properly briefed on the land/project?

Is the PG operating on mere hearsays and or beer palour gossips?

Is he acting on impulse, or out to achieve a lasting peace, show the world his bulging muscles and chest or to satisfy his godfathers.

"It’s wise and advisably so to disabuse the minds of those seeing our dear PG as a mere puppet.

"In conclusion, the Nwankwo Okpala/Nwolisa family is very peaceful and is ready to cooperate with you and the Ideani Community to bring development, progress to Ideani, especially whenever you are on the right track.

"That was the reason we considered about four decades ago to give out a portion of one of our choicest property for the public cause so far the agreement was beneficial, in the first place.

"It is true that most of those flexing muscles today were just toddlers or we're not born when we started delving into issues of public good. It is therefore early in the day; let’s sheath our swords and retrace our steps and allow all sleeping dogs lie. 

"The land in question, or the contentious portion belongs to us, and no written or oral agreement or any binding contract was ever perfected or entered into between us and anyone over it. 

Those who contacted the Federal agency (NIPOST) were seen and treated as mere meddlesome interlopers. Because no such ceding of land ever existed or took place when there was no title documents to do so. As none was ever signed by anyone because negotiation had continued seemingly ad infinitum for more than forty years, consequent upon which we ordered the community out of the land, in writing! 

"It was an incontrovertible fact that no response or reaction was received from the community for our letters of Aug 24,1988; February 22,1990; March 8,2003; August 3,2007 or March 5,2018.

How can anyone reasonably describe this bodylanguage other than nonchalant and irresponsible. So how can such organization suddenly wake up now and expect to be taken serious. 

Investigation by journalists revealed that none out of more than six topical letters including copy of the drafted agreement which encapsulated and articulated the points agreed to between them was ratified or returned to the Family.  

But according to the land owners, they are requesting for a total sum of Two hundred and five million Naira (N205m) from the PG/Ideani community, being accumulated cost of the proposed annual ground rent for the forty-three years they held unto the land and denied us access or use. There were other items including- training of members of the family up to university levels; giving of employment to all willing and qualified members of the family. 

The community had in one letter to the family copiously expressed her sadness in keeping the land for more than forty years without perfecting the handover/transfer of ownership process due to lack of matching funds and administrative will. 

Chief Charles Nwolisa who jointly signed the statement along with Godfrey Nwankwo Okpala on behalf of the family led by their lawyer and other Consultants showed copies of letters written to the community these past years. 

From the tone of a letter from the community, it was in response to one of the letters from the family which made them set up a Lands Committee. It was this committee, according to its chairman that recommended handing off the land and returning it back to the family, especially where the proposed Post Office project had gone out of fashion, in view of the emergence of information communication technology (ICT). 

More so when the community failed to live up to any of the proposed terms and obligation, even if just in principle. 

So, notwithstanding the unfortunate crass display of lack of information and arrogance of power by those who sponsored the PG to power, ".. we have in summary tried to educate the public, the PG and his pupetteers on the raw truth they intensionally chose to ignore. 

"We also urge those indulging in this unfolding infantile busybody concerning the judgement on the land to approach the High Court of Justice at Ogidi for a copy to avoid any unpleasant consequences. 

"We may not have the luxury of going into all these details again," the family added. 

Opinions from the community's eight villages were in favor of the family, to do whatever pleases them with their land.

One of the elder statesmen and leaders in the community, Chief Eugene Agwubilo in an interaction with journalists at his Nsokwe village country home, Ideani, disclosed that "the parcel of land in question belongs to the Nwolisa family. 

"I will volunteer on oath that as a kid, we often go hunting in that place. It was then called 'ofia Iyiogu' and was inhabited by one of Nwolisah's son called Iyiogu. He died a leper, without a wife or child. 

"The late Iyiogu's property was consequently inherited by other Nwolisah offsprings today. It's their land".  

Chief Agwubilo, a very strong, articulate and agile nonagenarian added that, "I also learnt that someone at a time was laying claim to the land. That is not possible! Except the issue was about the correct boundary demarcation, else it's incontestable that the piece of land duly belong to Nwolisa family. I am willing and ready to testify to this anywhere", Chief Agwubilo noted. 

In addition, he pointed out that he had personally in the past urged the family to move back into the land since efforts by the community leadership to use a portion of it for the proposed post office, if they enter into an agreement with them to use it. That he was therefore surprised to hear about the ongoing rumpus currently arising from moves by the family to sell or enter into a joint commercial venture with an investor on the land.

But Okoye, (PG) alongside his Secretary reacted with a written two-page letter claiming "the land is Ideani Community Post Office land"

They warned those encroaching on the land or vandalizing property on it to desist. 

At the last weekend executive meeting when journalists besieged the civic center to hear from him or what the community would say about the matter, Okoye said it will wait till next meeting. 

Another elderstatesman from Uruechem village, Ideani who appealed for anonymity, who was among the leadership of Ideani in the hey days of the late Igwe Humphrey Okoye noted that, "any person claiming or assuming that the community was given the land in any way should ask himself how? There was no formal or informal agreement executed between the community and the family. Anything seen that went on then on the land was manipulatively done in order to railroad the family into succumbing willy nilly. But they were vehement that no further development should take place until the proposed agreement was perfected and executed. Little wonder no signpost was planted on the land to announce "Site for proposed Ideani Post Office". 

No such signpost was made or mounted because no such site was acquired by anyone. They know the consequences of placing same, the Nwolisah family would have readily removed it.