…Fingers Amara Iwuanyanwu On Land Matter.
…As Deputy Speaker Calls For Proper Investigation
The people of Umuoyima autonomous community in Owerri Municipal Council, Imo State, have raised an alarm over the alleged move by the Deputy Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Amara Iwuanyanwu to forcefully grab their traditional land called Ugwumiri Okpo (Umuoyima South Pocket Layout), released to them by the Ministry of Lands, Imo State, in 2022.
The aggrieved people, who expressed a deep shock over the Deputy Speaker’s claims, said that the land in question was officially released to the families in Umuoyima by the State Ministry of Lands in 2022, during the first time of Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu as Commissioner for Lands, saying that it was released after fulfilling the necessary requirements like making a formal application for release of land and payment of the statutory fees.
Speaking to newsmen in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State, in the presence of elders and youths of the affected Umuoyima families, the Secretary General of Elders Council, Umuoyima autonomous community, Elder Charles Ucheoma, who is very knowledgeable on every land in the community, said it was regrettable that such a thing was happening during the administration of governor Hope Uzodimma, who does not believe in acquiring people’s property or land, and asked those involved in the shoddy deal to quickly withdraw their interests for the sake of peace.
His words, “This land we’re talking about is a traditional land owned by us. This land called Ugwumiri Okpo is owned by some families in Umuoyima autonomous community which my family, Ucheoma family, is included. This family land was acquired by the government in 1978 by the Land Use Act, and they created a layout on this land, Umuoyima South Pocket Layout. This is a private layout belonging to the community. They left part of it and called it Green Verge. As our population grew, we got crowded out of space. We went to the Ministry of Lands and applied for part of the river Green Verge to be varied for us to enable us provide housing for the increasing number of our children. The Ministry of Lands saw reasons to vary part of the river Green Verge (OS2) for us. The Commissioner that released it to us is Barr Enyinnaya Onuegbu, in his first time as Commissioner for Lands, Imo State, in 2022. All the documents are with us. It went through due process in the Ministry of Lands before it was released to us. We paid heavy tariff and indeed, every other statutory money for the land to be released for us by the Ministry.
“After the release, we discovered that the land was not big enough to accommodate the size of our growing families. While we were considering the possibility of selling part of the land to enable us purchase a large piece of land elsewhere to settle our children, we discovered that people have started erecting shanties on the land released to us, and this got worst after the demolition of the old Ogbosisi at Wetheral road some weeks ago. These shanties were attracting all manner of criminals to our community. We later discovered that these people who were erecting shanties were paying rent to one of the Aides of the governor. This gave them the impetus to refuse leaving our land when we asked them to leave. At this point, we had no choice again than to look for money to secure it and begin to develop it. So, we went to the OCDA, got the necessary permits and started fencing our land.
“Surprisingly, as we were erecting the fence, Nze Chinasa Nwaneri, Special Adviser to the governor on Monitoring and Compliance, came with his team of Policemen and thugs. When he asked of who was developing the land, some community members who were there informed him that they were the ones doing the development. They also told him that the land was varied by the Ministry of Lands for them. They told him that it was approved by the Ministry of Lands. That the approval was made by Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu during his first time as Commissioner for Lands in 2022. Nze Chinasa Nwaneri picked his phone and called Enyinnaya Onuegbu on the spot. He called him over a speaker phone and everybody was hearing the discussion. Enyinnaya Onuegbu told him that he released the land for the families in Umuoyima autonomous community. That he approved it for them in 2022, that it was genuinely approved, that he should allow them to continue their work. Chinasa and his team asked the workers to continue their work and went away, having confirmed that the land was genuinely released to us”
Continuing, he said, “About three weeks later, the same Chinasa came again. This time, he came with the Deputy Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Amara Iwuanyanwu, and that was when we started opening the road done by the OCDA, connecting old Aba road, to conform with the Master plan of the layout and by extension, the overall master plan of the city. The road which was blocked by someone’s fence, needed to be re-opened. And the OCDA had given a one-week notice for the owner to remove the gate of the fence too. Over a week later, the OCDA came to do the road and remove the road obstruction. While at site with their equipment and men, Amara Iwuanyanwu called the OCDA General Manager and asked him to leave the obstruction; that the house belonged to his brother, that he would come the next morning to see what they were talking about. At that point, the OCDA obliged him and continued smoothening the other part of the road, making it motorable, promising to continue their job the next day after meeting with the Deputy Speaker.
“In the morning, which was yesterday, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Amara Iwuanyanwu, Chinasa Nwaneri and some of their people came to the site. Instead of allowing the OCDA to remove the gate that blocked the road, he (Amara) started claiming that our land belong to him. We were surprised, asking what land are you talking about? Is it the one the Ministry released to us two years ago? He said that the land belonged to him; that he had a Certificate of Occupancy on the land; that he was given many plots of land at Akachi Residential Layout Annex, but this is Umuoyima South Pocket Layout, and not Akachi Layout Annex. Akachi Residential Layout Annex is a different layout. How can you come to Umuoyima South Pocket Layout to claim land that does not belong to you? Your CoO is reading Akachi Residential Layout Annex.
“For the records, the CoO he is parading is Owerri North, while our land is in Owerri Municipal Council. The layout he is claiming on his CoO is government layout, ours is private layout. The plot on his CoO is ineligibly read plot A, but our land is parcellated for us from plot 118 to 141. So, there is no connection whatsoever between our land and Amara’s CoO. This is just a case of intimidation and harassment just to grab our land.
“He made us know that the government gave him the land by CoO, but when we went to the Ministry of Lands for confirmation, they said that they were not aware of the CoO. Instead, they stated it clearly that the land had been approved and released to us; that we should continue to take possession of our land.
“To further tell you what we suffered in the land, we discovered that a High Tension light passed through the land which is very dangerous. We have to reach out to the EEDC and paid more than twenty million naira for the relocation of the High Tension light. We even borrowed money to settle the EEDC.
Expressing regrets over the action of the two government functionaries, Elder Ucheoma stated, “We are surprised with what Chinasa and Amara are doing. That is why we invited the press into the matter. We want the press to rescue us from the problem by making the governor know what is going on here. That’s what is happening in Imo State, grabbing people’s lands here and there. They claimed that the governor gave them the land when the governor is not aware of what they are doing on lands. The land is our ancestral land given to us by the Ministry of Lands after going through the necessary processes.
“The governor should tell these people to stay away from this land, because this land has been given to the traditional owners by the Ministry of Lands.”.
He added, “We also went to the OCDA and obtained fencing permit. If the land is not genuine, they wouldn’t have given us the fencing permit to go and fence the land. It’s now that we are fencing the land that Amara Iwuanyanwu and Chinasa Nwaneri came to claim it, a land that does not belong to them. It cannot happen”.
Elder Ucheoma concluded by asking the government to spare the small ancenstorial land left for them which is less than 24 plots, saying that they are using it to resettle their children, who have no place to live.
Adding his voice, another notable community leader in Umuoyima autonomous community, Mr. Augustine Kamalu, who faulted the Certificate of Occupancy presented by Amara Iwuanyanwu, said, “Look at the CoO Amara Iwuanyanwu and Chinasa Nwaneri are parading. It bears 2024, the period the governor suspended the former commissioner for Lands, Hon. Noble Atulegwu and the same Chinasa Nwaneri. What I’m saying is that the CoO they are claiming the governor gave to them bears the date of the period the Ministry of Lands had no commissioner. The time the governor said that he was not aware of what they were doing. They are grabbing people’s lands here and there. Barr Enyinnaya Onuegbu approved this very land they are claiming for us. Every necessary fee was paid. Again, this land was given to us in 2022, and the purported CoO they are parading read 2024. How do you reconcile this? They came to claim our land which is different from the one we saw in the CoO they are parading. Our land falls in a different layout plan, and that one falls in a different layout plan. Why are they claiming our own? The governor should know that these are the people that are tarnishing his good image and reputation because of land. We all know that our governor is not interested in taking people’s land without due process. So, the governor should call them to order.
“Umuoyima Community said no to that. We’re not going to allow that to happen, an individual taking our land when we don’t have where to live “.
While also speaking to newsmen, a resident of the community, Chief Johnson Ibemere, who said that he had a property around the area, stated that he captured all that happened between the two groups, as he was going there on regular basis to monitor his property.
Narrating his story, he said, “The land was actually released to the community by the government. This is a private layout. It is for the people, but the government planned it for them so that it will conform with the master plan of the city. They applied that they don’t have where their children who are increasing in number can live. They applied to see if the government could vary the open space called Green Verge at the Ottamiri river, and the government saw the need to do just that. So, they decided to sell the land, as it would not be enough for their children, to enable them go and buy a bigger land elsewhere.
“To tell you what the community passed through, when they got this land, there were two High Tension lights running through the land. The 33KVA and 11KVA lights were running through the land. They still had to cough out over twenty million naira, borrowed money here and there to get the EEDC to relocate the High Tension lights after they have paid the government all the fees requested.
“Like the old man said, when Chinasa Nwaneri called the Commissioner, Enyinnaya Onuegbu, he told him that the land was released to the families that own it. Chinasa asked them to continue the work and left with his team.
“Coming to fencing of the land, someone built a fence and gate blocking the road created during the Mbakwe administration. The OCDA came at the road and marked it “remove from the road”. The day the OCDA came to open the road, that was about seven days after they wrote that thing, the General Manager got a call from Amara Iwuanyanwu, the Deputy Speaker, asking him to stop work. The catapilar was there, the OCDA people were there. Everything was official, but the Deputy Speaker stopped them from doing their official job. Everyone witnessed it. He told the GM that he would come to the site the following day morning. What the OCDA did was to grade the road, leaving that obstruction.
“The next day, Chinasa Nwaneri, Amara Iwuanyanwu and their team came in convoy with the police and thugs and intimidated the workers, and threaten to shoot anybody that tries to work again. There and then, they wrote, “Marked for demolition ” on the fence. That thing you’re seeing there was not written by the OCDA, they wrote it themselves which is very wrong and illegal. The OCDA was not part of it. When people asked why they were writing “marked for demolition” on the fence, Chinasa Nwaneri said that the land belonged to Amara Iwuanyanwu, and they drove off.
“So, a lot is at stake here. This overbearing power, oppressing the people, intimidating the people, grabbing their lands with force, is getting out of hand. Dropping the name of the governor, who all of us know is not interested in taking people’s lands for personal use, is wrong. Nobody can take that away from Uzodimma. We know that, but these people working with him are doing a lot of unwholesome things. If you listen to governor Hope Uzodimma, you discover that he is a man of strong faith. When they come close to the governor, they stay like lambs and doves, but behind the governor, they are wolves and lions, devouring the same people the governor is labouring everyday to protect”.
Alerting the public of the current move allegedly made by Chinasa Nwaneri and Amara Iwuanyanwu, the Umuoyima elders said, “What worries us is what we heard that they called the Commissioner for Lands, Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu, yesterday, putting him under pressure to deny that he released the land to the people of Umuoyima Community. But the documents are there. You can see the extent these people are going in order to grab people’s land. They are doing this in the name of the governor who knows nothing about the deal.
“We want to once again use this opportunity to tell the governor that the people of Imo State are crying under the operation of the people that are working for him. At the end of the day, people will say that all these damages, bad blood and bitterness they are creating were done during the administration of Senator Hope Odidika Uzodimma, hence, he should call them to order.
“The Commissioner for Lands, Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu, should continue to be an Honourable gentleman. He should not allow these people to carry him along in land grabbing deal, as Imo people are watching”.
Every effort to reach the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Amara Iwuanyanwu and Chinasa Nwaneri for reaction at the time of filling this report, proved abortive, as they could not pick their calls.
A text message was also given to the Deputy Speaker, but he did not reply. The text message given to him on Monday, May 5, 2025, read “ Good afternoon Honourable. My name is Leonard Ajokubi, the Publisher, Hero Express Newspapers. I have called your line severally since morning to get your reaction on a report from Umuoyima Community concerning their land they said you’re claiming. We wanted to get your own side of the story. How I wish you will oblige us the privilege of commenting on the matter.. Thanks.”
When Contacted, the Deputy Speaker, RT Hon Amara Iwuanyanwu told TRUMPETA that he has no hand in any Land grabbing, adding that the potion of Land he acquired in the area past through normal processes, with due papers issued to him.
He added that he has no problem with anybody over the land in question, pointing out that the Honourable Commissioner for Lands, Bar Enyinna Onuegbu has delved into the matter and sure that after proper investigation the disagreement would be amicably resolved with all parties involved going home happy.
