Sometime in 2021, Enugu Housing Corporation was desirous of acquiring a large expanse of land measuring over 100 Hectares at Villa Estate, Ozalla Abor, Udi LGA. One self-acclaimed army captain, Mr. Okechukwu Ayogu, who claimed to be working for the then GOC 82 Division, approached the
community to discourage them from offering that expanse of land to the government through Enugu Housing Corporation.
As at the time Mr Okechukwu Ayogu 08171603242, the MD of HYMAC REAL LTD, who claimed to be a lawyer, Pastor and an Army officer was believed to be closely working with the then GOC of the 82 Division of Nigerian army as an informant or spy.
He was and is still always moving in the company of over six armed Nigerian army soldiers. Mr Okechukwu Ayogu succeeded in convincing the representatives of the community to work with him against Enugu State Housing Corporation.
The representatives of the community at the time were Mr Chukwuka Ugwu ,08037880911 Mr John Onyechi.07066504534,07030990520 Mr Ferdinand Agbo,08037506743 Mr Uche Njeze and others The deal as agreed was that Mr Okechukwu Ayogu will buy approximately 8 Hectares worth about 2Billion Naira from the community under a staggered payment plan payable upon successful completion of his agreed brief which entailed using his influence in the army to stop the Enugu State Government and Enugu State Housing Development corporation from acquiring the said land.
Mr Okechukwu Ayogu demanded that community must as a sigh of commitment pay to him the sum of 20 Million as Logistics/Facilitation fee in order to enable him commence the brief of wading off the Enugu State Government from the said land, which the community obliged and paieKhrotigh the-First Bank account of Mr Chukwuka Ugwu.
Mr Okechukwu Ayogu, having received the 20 Million and perceived the trust the community bestowed on him as mere stupidity, prepared title documents to transfer the proposed 8 Hectares of land to his company name, then invited the representatives of the community to his office for a meeting. In that meeting, he brought in armed soldiers to intimidate and bully the representatives of the community into signing the title documents. He told them that the order was from the Army Headquarters. Because they were scared to their marrow, they had no option than to sign the said title documents.
Mr. Okechukwu Ayogu Hurriedly rushed and registered the title documents at the Enugu Ministry of Lands.
MR OKECHUKWU AYOGU HAS NEVER PAID OZALLA ABOR COMMUNITY OR ANYONE ANY DIME OVER THAT LAND TILL DATE.
He should be confronted to provide proof and means of payment as the root of title over the land.
The pivot of Mr Ayogu’s fraud is that he always parades himself to be an associate of Gen Toareed Lagbaja, the then GOC of 82 Division who is the current chief of Army Staff. He told the community that Mrs Lagbaja, the wife of the Army Chief, is a director in his company, which automatically grants the entire over 100 hectares of Ozalla Abor land the status of an Army Land for ease of protection.
Late 2021, to the disappointment of the Community, the then GM of Enugu State Housing Development Corporation, Mr Chukwuemelie Agu, started their development activities on the said ‘Army’ land which they called CONQUEST ESTATE, using a company Called Tochel Construction LTD, owned by one Mr. Tochukwu Nzekwe 08033242525.
They realized that the Conquest Estate included the said 8 Hectares purportedly sold to Mr Ayogu by the community. This discovery gave rise to a serious running battle between Mr Chukwuemetie Agu 08091111411, GM of Housing Corporation, Mr Tochukwu Nzekwe, MD of Tochei Construction against Mr Okechukwu Ayogu, MD of HYMAC REAL Limited lasting over two years.
The members of the community realized at this point that Mr. Okechukwu Ayogu lacked capacity/character to stop the state government from taking the said land, but he was only protecting the 8 Hectares using his soldiers, so they started agitating. Again, Mr Okechukwu Ayogu succeeded in using the Army to scare away the community from the land while he took possession by fencing it right round.
When the current administration of Dr Peter Mba came into power, Mr Okechukwu Ayogu started Parading to be a close associate to the Secretary of State Government Prof Chidi Onyia, whom he & claimed to have facilitated his appointment using the influence of the Army Headquarters.
When the present Government realized the feud between the Enugu Housing development corporation, Mr Okechukwu Ayogu and the Ozaila Abor Community, they set up a committee chaired by the Solicitor General, Barr Victor Emeribe 08033216905. The Emeribe Committee did a thorough job and gathered all the facts of the fued, but Mr Okechukwu Ayogu used his influence on the SSG to suppress the report of the Emeribe Committee.
From the disposition of the SSG over that land, there is a maximum likelihood that Mr Ayogu may have made a deal with the SSG to conceal the facts from the State government and protect his dealings on the land.By the assistance of the SSG, Mr. Okechukwu Ayogu went further to present those registered title documents which he obtained under duress to the State Government thereby misleading the leadership of the state into instructing Enugu State Housing Development Corporation to relinquish the title of that 8 Hectares to his company.
Currently, Mr. Okechukwu Ayogu is in possession of the said land having title documents from both Ozaila Abor and Enugu State Housing Development Corporation.
The land is approximately 130 plots, and he is currently selling the land at 8 Million Naira per plot.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The governor should caution the SSG and strictly restrain him from having any further dealings with Mr Okechukwu Ayogu so as to preserve the hard earned name of the governor from public Odium.
The governor should call up the solicitor general to personally present his committee report to him,
The state government and the law enforcement agencies should thoroughly investigate Mr. Okechukwu Ayogu and have him restrained from the said land and bring him to book in order to serve as a deterrent to other land grabbers.The Enugu State Government to compensate Ozafla Abor Community adequately and recover the 8 Hectares from Mr Okechukwu Ayogu with immediate effect.
