Residents of Ubulu-Okiti and Aniagbala/Ubulu-Uku communities in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State have raised the alarm over what they described as sustained intimidation and physical assaults allegedly perpetrated by the monarch of Ogwashi-Uku, Obi Ifechukwude Okonjo, and his brother, Prince Onyema Okonjo, with the active backing of police personnel.
Ifechukwude and Onyema are both brothers to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the current Director General of the World Trade Organisation.
Allegations of Police-Backed Violence and Land Seizure
The communities claim that the Okonjo family is forcefully taking over their ancestral lands. They also accused the police, particularly officers from Zone 5 Command in Benin, Edo State of taking sides with the Ogwashi-Uku monarch’s family due to the influence of his sister, Okonjo-Iweala.
According to community leaders, the situation escalated in December 2024 when armed thugs allegedly sponsored by the Okonjo brothers stormed farmlands in Aniagbala and Ubulu-Okiti with bulldozers and security escorts.
Economic trees, crops, irrigation equipment, and bee farms were reportedly destroyed. Victims included an investment banker, Mr. Luke Ejiofor, whose palm plantations and modern farming infrastructure were allegedly wiped out.
“The police came in the dead of the night, broke down our door and beat me and my husband to a stupor, and took my husband away,” Mrs Osemene told Sahara Reporters.
“I was beaten up by the police during the midnight attack, and was badly injured. The scars are still all over my body,” Miss Japhet, a victim who was severely injured, said.
Controversial Court Judgment Sparks Dispute
A local chief, John Dumbili, the Ojunwa Eze of Ubulu’Okiti said the attackers claimed they were executing a court judgment that gave them possession of over 686 hectares of land.
“But that judgment is limited to a disputed parcel between Ogwashi-Uku and Ashi Industries at Edo-Ogwashi. It has nothing to do with our lands in Ubulu-Okiti or Aniagbala,” he added.
Community representatives argued that the judgment being paraded by the Okonjo brothers was never applicable to their land, and that their communities were never parties to the suit referenced.
“They’re using a bogus court judgment as a front to annex our farmlands, which have belonged to our families for generations. These lands have valid titles, including Certificates of Occupancy dating back to the 1960s and 1990s,” Mr Dumbili said.
The conflict took a legal twist in December 2024 when some community members — including Chief Linus Osemene, a traditional title holder, and Mr. Japhet Biose, a local vigilante member — were arrested at midnight by policemen from Zone 5. They were detained for over a week and later slammed with charges of illegal firearm possession before a Federal High Court in Asaba.
Community members say the arrests were arbitrary, noting that the firearms recovered were community-assigned single-barrel rifles used by government-recognized vigilante groups. Members of the community accused the now-retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Nwazue Arungwa, of manipulating investigations to serve the interests of the Okonjo family.
“The now-retired AIG, while he was in office, never gave us a fair hearing. He ignored our petitions and sided with the invaders. That’s why we requested the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the case to the IGP Monitoring Unit in Abuja,” a community member recounted.
Residents further alleged that, despite formal complaints and photographic evidence submitted to the IGP Monitoring Unit, led by SP Aminu Sokoto, the Zone 5 command obstructed investigations by denying access to vital case files and supporting the execution of a contentious Writ of Possession.
They accused the monarch, Ifechukwude Okonjo, of enlisting 25 police officers to enforce the Writ on October 28, 2024 — a request purportedly approved by the IGP without knowledge of the actual situation on the ground.
The use of overwhelming police force, the communities insist, facilitated the aggressive and illegal seizure of their lands.
Tensions peaked on December 16, 2024, when youths from Ubulu-Okiti and Aniagbala repelled another invasion attempt. Some intruders, claiming to be surveyors working for the Okonjo brothers, were temporarily detained but later released.
Still, community leaders say the monarch retaliated by orchestrating more arrests and allegedly manipulating media reports to paint the affected communities as aggressors.
“These people have been trying to criminalise respected individuals like Dr. Emmanuel Brasca Ifeadi, a retired Deputy Comptroller General of Immigration, and others who weren’t even present during the confrontation,” another community figure lamented.
Farmlands Occupied by Militias, Hunters Association
Residents say the monarch’s agents — including alleged militias from Anambra and operatives of the Hunters Association of Nigeria — continue to occupy their farms, beating up anyone who dares to return.
They also claim that despite a standing directive from the Delta State government for parties in all land disputes to maintain peace pending the report of a state Commission of Inquiry, the Ogwashi-Uku monarch has ignored it, continuing bulldozing operations and fencing activities in the disputed areas.
The communities have called on President Bola Tinubu, the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, and civil society organisations to intervene before the situation descends into a larger crisis.
They insist that the disputed farmlands have no historical connection to Ogwashi-Uku, and that the current claims by the Okonjo brothers are part of a coordinated attempt to forcibly appropriate land for commercial sale to developers under the guise of royalty and legal enforcement.
“The level of impunity, the use of force, and the complicity of security agencies in this matter are deeply troubling. If not checked, it may lead to widespread unrest not only in Aniocha South but across Delta State,” Chief Dumbili, the Ojunwa Eze of Ubulu’Okiti told SaharaReporters.
Attempts to get comments from the monarchy were unsuccessful. However, when contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Bright Edafe, said he was unaware of any reported cases of police assault.
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