As They Insist Court Verdict Remain Supreme.
By Echereozo Chibuzo A
The good people of Umukpabi of Odoru village in Okata community of Ihitte Uboma has bemoaned the actions and unruly interference of Ihitte Uboma local government chairman, prince Obioha Ndukwe over a land dispute that has threatened the serenity and peaceful disposition of the community in recent time . Concerned members of the community has allerged that the local government chairman is trying to use his executive power to thwart and influence the decision of the court that has already ruled on the matter.
The people opined that the chairman has acted in ignorance and is quite oblivious of all facts also surrounding this issue,stating that his ruling and decision on the matter is malicious and contravenes with the court of competent jurisdiction that has already ruled on this matter.The natives which comprises men,women and youths are of the view that the council boss should show good example to his subjects by respecting court order and decision which every one considered paramount.In their words,our local government chairman is expected to be an agent of peace and not destruction.They urged him to stop actions and decisions that may pose threat the peace of the community hence he is the chief security officer of the local government.Okata Indegenes revealed that they are very conversant with the land in dispute and hinted that they are in support of their traditional ruler HRH EZE CC Iwueke who has toed the path of the court in this matter .They hinted that the decision of the court and that of the traditional ruler should be respected by every body that is in one way or the other affected by this issue no matter highly placed the person may be in the society.
In his judgement,prince Ndukwe claimed that a petition dated 21st of April 2026 was brought before him in office so as to investigate the report of the seven man fact finding committee set up by the traditional ruler.it could be recalled that the Eze set a committee and some visible members of his cabinet are also members of this committee.The committee rather than working according to the directives of the traditional ruler went contrary to their terms of reference .The committee compromised with their findings probably because of gratification and bribe they collected from the other party in the matter.for example,the committee refused to include the reports of the three most eldest men in the village and their statements was removed in the committess final report.There is a saying that the the words of the elders are the words of wisdom .The three old men in their separate remarks told the committee that there is no name or kindred as Ogbuohia not to talk of being the eldest.They maintained that the name is strange and do not have any root in their ancestral lineage.
The traditional ruler rejected the committess report on ground of incompetence and partiality .He upheld the ruling of the court.This matter has been decided at various court of law ranging from mbano/Etiti high court and court of appeal seated in porthacourt .Sir Humphrey Onuoha failed to establish the the identity of ogbuohia as he claimed.He claimed and fabricated the so called ogbuohia kindred family but he could not prove to the court beyond reasonable doubt and case was ruled against him with a heavy cost against him.It would have been a serious contempt of court if the traditional ruler went contrary to the ruling of the court.The traditional ruler ruled that statusquo should be maintained meaning that the decision of the court should be maintained .
However,history has it that Odoru village has two sons,Umukpabia and Umushoghoro,ukpabi is the eldest among the two.Ukpabi had four sons namely Ekechukwu Ndubueze,Nkwokorie Kenkwo,Ebichiem Onuoha and Duru Adiukwu.The aforementioned kindreds are named in. Order of seniority.If one may ask ,what is the place of Ogbuohia in this whole arrangement.Sir Humphrey Onuoha who is claiming Ogbuohia kindred falls within the third position in the seniority order which is Ebichiem Onuoha.
As far back as 1978,the entire Onuoha family occupied the third position in umukpabi kindred,Their family like every other member of the kindred are known and addressed as Umukpabia,they were members of umukpabia family only that Sir Humphrey who was very desperate to aquire land for the so called ogbuohia pulled out away from the kindred and tried to establish ogbuohia so that he could have access to the land,Sir Humphrey lost the case through litigation in the court,He could not establish ogbuohias root and ancestral lineage in court hence he lost the case.Even when Sir Humphrey pulled out of umukpabia ,his senior brother and eldest son Mr Joel Onuoha did not pull away with him but still remained with umukpabia, Mr Joel never changed his name from umukpabia to ogbuohia.facts are sacred and the truth can never be submerged .If there was a name called or known as ogbuohia,why did Joel Onuoha still remain with umukpabia and refused to join his brother in pursuit of Ogbuohia identity.through out all the whole court processes,Joel Onuoha has never appeared in court for one day in solidarity to his younger brother Humphrey Onuoha.Mr Joel refused to join in the matter in court and his name was never mentioned through out the court processes and in the judgement because he was not in support of his brother Humphrey ,Even as at today, there is no land called or known as ogbuohia land in the entire kindred,village and community.
The court made it clear that the name ogbuohia never existed .perhaps, the local government chairman was not provided with all these historical facts and background before before taking his stand.He failed to do thorough investigation over this issue maybe because he is in a haste to favor his maternal uncle .The council chairman through his judgement now wants to establish ogbuohia so as to empower his maternal uncle to enter the land and reclaim it.One cannot be a judge in his own case.The whole community has sent a warning signal to the council boss telling him to desist from any act or decisions that may cause trouble and anarchy in the community.They have urged him to call both parties together and find out the true position of things before jumping into conclusion and throwing his weight in support of one man
Concerned and respected members of the community has advised the local government chairman to urge his cronies to come home and make peace with their kinsmen and kindred instead of pursuit of parralel kindred for a name that never existed in the kindred lineage.The local government chairman failed to address all the issues raised in Ezes judgement.instead he initiated a parralel judgement to favor his maternal uncle and set a once peaceful community on a war path..One can only seek redress in the law court if they are not satisfied with the Ezes judgement.They should go to court instead of seeking for self help at the local government chairman office.
The matter was brought at the Eze,s palace in April 2025 for arbitration and he delivered his judgement by may 2026.how on earth was he in a haste to deliver judgement as was claimed by the chairman.A matter that spans almost one year at the Ezes palace,From the day the day the traditional ruler circulated his judgement to the parties involved till date,there has never been any form of crisis or acrimony in the community.
A cursory look at the chairmans judgement may not reveal much but if one take an indepth look into that judgement you will simply observe that his verdict is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts.An intentional act being orchestrated to favor. His maternal uncle
In another development,the people of Okata has revealed that some portion of the age long tradition of ‘”Ihe Ngwutu Onu” should exclusively reserved for the eldest member of umukpabi kindred which is Ekechukwu Ndubueze and family and not the other way round.They are of the view that the local government chairman as an elected officer of the local government should maintain peace and orderliness in all the communities rather than taking decisions that may set the entire community on fire
