{"id":169572,"date":"2025-07-15T18:57:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T17:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community"},"modified":"2025-07-15T20:04:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T19:04:07","slug":"protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community","title":{"rendered":"Protracted Land Dispute Claims Life in Enugu Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The age-long land dispute between the Etiti Ngwo community in Udi Local Government Area and their neighbours in Umuku\u2010Apuke, Enugu South Local Government Area has claimed another life.<\/p>\n<p>The latest development comes amid subsisting court judgments.<\/p>\n<p>Residents of Etiti Ngwo are accusing their rivals of defying multiple court verdicts and violently encroaching on their land.<\/p>\n<p>According to them, both the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court affirmed their ownership of the disputed area.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey started demolishing our properties despite the judgment,\u201d the Chairman of Etiti Ngwo Central community, Eze Daniel Onyejuwaka told journalists on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>He narrated how the crisis escalated after a meeting with the Deputy Governor and the Enugu State Boundary Committee on July 10, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat actually happened is that on Thursday, July 10, 2025, we went to the office of the Deputy Governor, who is the head of the Boundary Committee of Enugu State.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a judgment over the dispute we have with the people of Umuku\u2010Apuke in the Enugu South Local Government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Appeal Court gave us judgment, and the Supreme Court also upheld it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey later protested through their legal counsel to the Boundary Committee that we were trespassing. The state government intervened, and that same day, we were given judgment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSurprisingly, from that particular day, they went to the scene and started demolishing all the properties we had there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey laid an ambush and killed Sochima in cold blood,\u201d he disclosed.<\/p>\n<p>Onyejuwaka said that despite Etiti Ngwo\u2019s decision to remain law\u2010abiding, the opposing community launched an armed ambush.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the last batch of our people were coming back from the site, the people of Umuguakom and their team laid ambush and started shooting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually, they shot one of our brothers, Sochima Onoh, who died in cold blood,\u201d he narrated.<\/p>\n<p>He accused the Managing Director of Enugu State Geographic Information System (ENGIS), Mr. Chiwetalu Nwatu, of fueling the crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite all the activities of the Deputy Governor to resolve this issue, he went ahead and started reallocating the land or admitting people of Umu\u2010Ugwu Akum Akwuke, who had already been defeated in court, giving double allocations and things like that. This is where they got the momentum to start attacking us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have lost three lives on this land,\u201d he alleged.<\/p>\n<p>The community leader made an emotional appeal:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are only using this medium to call on the state government, particularly the Governor of Enugu State, the Attorney\u2010General of the state, the Attorney\u2010General of the Federation, and all the judges and lawyers in this country to come to our aid so that the judgment given to us by both the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court can be honoured.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the third person we are losing in this same land. We have lost the likes of Oliver Onoh, today again it\u2019s Sochima, and particularly my own father died in the same process. It is so pathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Onyejuwaka said the Supreme Court verdict dates back to 2015, with subsequent attempts by their rivals to secure a stay of execution struck out as recently as 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn three occasions that they filed to the Supreme Court, all of them were struck out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen they had judgment, we never stepped into that land. When they had a judgment from the High Court, we left there and allowed them to do whatever they wanted until we got up here. I just don\u2019t know why they are doing all this to us,\u201d he further stated.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the rising tension, he assured that Etiti Ngwo would not resort to violence:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you look around me, it\u2019s not as if I don\u2019t have people. But we are law\u2010abiding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is why we are appealing to the Governor of Enugu State to make sure he ends this matter before it turns again into a communal crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eyewitness account<\/p>\n<p>An eyewitness, Obinna Onyia, tearfully recounted the moment Sochima was killed:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were on our way back and saw some people all wearing black.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey started pursuing us and we were running without direction. The land was slippery because it had rained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy friend fell down, and I told him to stand up. He stood up and we continued running. He fell again and went into the bush to hide.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey came and met him inside the bush and shot him. I saw them, but I couldn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Officials react<\/p>\n<p>When contacted, Mr. Chiwetalu Nwatu, Chief Executive Officer of ENGIS, denied the allegations, insisting he acted within his mandate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe land in question is Crown Land and as such belongs to the government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRather than taking over the land and demolishing every property there, the administration of Governor Peter Mbah in its magnanimity is asking everyone with a property there to come forward for registration,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Enugu State Police Command confirmed the killing.<\/p>\n<p>Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, said: \u201cOn July 12, 2025, at about 3:35 pm, the Police received a distress report from Isiama Agu\u2010Ovolo in Etiti Ngwo community, alleging that youths from Umu\u2010Ugwu Akum Akwuke stormed their area at Ovolo Layout and shot one Onoh Sochima.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPolice operatives responded immediately and found the victim\u2019s lifeless body with suspected gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was taken to the hospital, confirmed dead, and his body deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>SP Ndukwe added that preliminary investigations indicate the incident is linked to the ongoing land dispute, urging both communities to remain calm and avoid acts of self\u2010help while a full investigation continues.<\/p>\n<p>As Enugu mourns yet another life lost, residents are calling on the state government and the courts to enforce their judgments and bring a lasting peace to the troubled land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The age-long land dispute between the Etiti Ngwo community in Udi Local Government Area and their neighbours in Umuku\u2010Apuke, Enugu South Local Government Area has claimed another life. The latest development comes amid subsisting court judgments. Residents of Etiti Ngwo are accusing their rivals of defying multiple court verdicts and violently encroaching [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":169571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[662,254],"class_list":["post-169572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-enugu","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Protracted Land Dispute Claims Life in Enugu Community - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The age-long land dispute between the Etiti Ngwo community in Udi Local Government Area and their neighbours in Umuku\u2010Ap ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Protracted Land Dispute Claims Life in Enugu Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The age-long land dispute between the Etiti Ngwo community in Udi Local Government Area and their neighbours in Umuku\u2010Ap ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-15T17:57:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-15T19:04:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/sm_1752593753.773149.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Protracted Land Dispute Claims Life in Enugu Community\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-15T17:57:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-15T19:04:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community\"},\"wordCount\":975,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/sm_1752593753.773149.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Enugu\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/protracted-land-dispute-claims-life-in-enugu-community\",\"name\":\"Protracted Land Dispute Claims Life in Enugu Community - 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