……..Amichi rich men continue to wrestle for Igwe Amichi vast land
Recall that there was a blog publication touting Chief Chidi Anyaegbu of Chisco Transport as an investor in his homeland Amichi.
One of our correspondents was present in Nnewi High Court 2 on the 14th of May 2024, where the Honourable Judge Ogbuli strongly admonished and restrained Chief Mike Umeh from entering Ugilinze land located along the Nnewi-Amichi axis. Igwe Amichi, His Royal Highness, Igwe Dr. Ofobuike Ezeoke, claims that the land belongs to his late father, Late HRH Alphonsus Ezeoke, through a Supreme Court judgment rendered in November 1961 under Suit No. FSC 27/61.
Our correspondent on the ground obtained the Supreme Court Judgment titled David Agana & 2 Ors and Alphonsus Ezeoke & 2 Ors. Alphonsus Ezeoke is Igwe Ofobuike’s Late father. Further reading of the SC judgment did not disclose the names of Chief Anyaegbu or Chief Umeh. The number of plots occupied by Chief Umeh and Chief Anyaegbu on Igwe Ofobuike’s land is approximately 400 plots of land. Therein is the genesis of all Amichi crisis till today.
On 14th May 2024, the Nnewi High Court 2 issued an injunction against all parties, especially and specifically, Chief Mike Umeh, warning the parties not to ever enter the disputed land until the case is heard and decided on the merits.
On 17th May 2024, Chief Chidi Anyaegbu and Chief Mike Umeh, in defiance of the court injunction issued three days prior, appeared at the disputed land and held their groundbreaking ceremony with the intent to sell a “Diamond Estate” to potential buyers/investors. This act is in direct serious defiance of the order issued by Nnewi High Court. A visit to the land prior to the groundbreaking witnessed several pasted documents of the court injunction. Yet, Chief Chidi Anyaegbu and Chief Mike Umeh provocatively defied the order in broad daylight and forcefully entered the land with several hired Agberos and policemen observing the event. The NPF was present and aided in the defiance of the court order.
The current recurring crisis in Amichi originated from the same land. Igwe Amichi is holding on to his inheritance, but trespassers are emerging from east, west, north, and south, from Nnewi, Utuh, Osumenyi, Awka-Etiti, and Amichi. The only difference is that Chief Umeh and Chief Anyaegbu have aggressively ratcheted the matter to a different level.
Our correspondent spoke with one of the natives about the situation who said that “Igwe Amichi believes in the courts. This is not America where the system works. In Nigeria, we use Agbero, self-help, and juju to chase people away from our land. The court is too long and weak. Igwe should hire his own Agberos and fight back.”
We spoke with HRH Igwe Dr. Ofobuike Ezeoke about the incident. Igwe stated that “since the Supreme Court adjudged and decreed that my father is the owner of the land, then the courts should also ward off all trespassers and intruders. Violence begets violence. I do not want to waste the blood of one individual in Amichi, regardless of the temptation to do so. If one believes in violence and the use of police to intimidate, so be it.
I have cautioned all my followers to desist from any act of violence. We cannot match their violent tendencies. If the Nigerian judiciary fails me, so be it.”
Igwe’s statement is relevant when Chief Eric’s matter is investigated. For instance, Chief Eric Ume-Ezeoke, the Personal Assistant to Igwe Amichi, and Igwe Amichi’s cousin, has become the sounding board and easy pickings since Igwe Amichi is not a hanging fruit target for the rich men.
On Saturday, 18th May 2024, Igwe Amichi instructed his assistant, Chief Eric Ume-Ezeoke to provide a statement to the Police Area Command in Nnewi, regarding the violation of the injunction order by Chief Mike Umeh and Chief Anyaegbu.
While Chief Eric was at the Police Command Nnewi, about three men appeared at the station unannounced and claimed to be from Abuja IGP’s Special Investigation Unit with an arrest warrant for Chief Eric to be apprehended and taken to Abuja for questioning and detention.
The whole charade was orchestrated and aided by one Jeff Okeke, who is from Amichi, while wielding a Power of Attorney given to him by Chief Chidi Anyaegbu of Chisco Transport, to arrest Igwe Amichi’s PA at his whim, with trumped-up far-fetched criminal charges, such as trespass, murder, attempted murder, burglary, fraud, maiming, false imprisonment, criminal defamation of character, and other sorts of incredulous accusations, in connivance with the NPF and the Magistrate Court in Nnewi. This is the 7thtime that Chief Eric Ume-Ezeoke has been arrested and charged without evidence of any crime.
There are currently 3 charges pending against him at the same Nnewi Magistrate Court 4. When the case in Magistrate Court 4 was transferred, the rich men pivoted to another police charge from Abuja to continue the pressure of fabricated charges against Chief Eric.
Recall also that Chief Chidi Anyaegbu is the Chairman of Anambra State Security Trust Funds. Such a position in Anambra State attracts a lot of authority, which if unchecked, could lead to arrests and intimidations. People in Amichi are afraid of challenging such vested authority.
As is evident in the manner in which Igwe Amichi handles his affairs, Igwe Amichi resorts to the judiciary to effectively grant him victory against all intruders into his inherited land. It seems that the Amichi rich men are not interested in seeking land from Igwe Amichi. For some reason, they believe that forceful trespass and intimidation is a better avenue of redress.
The Police crew claimed to be from the Inspector General of Police’s Special Investigating Unit in Abuja. There was no charge against Chief Eric, except that he must appear in Abuja to answer to an unknown charge. Chief Eric was able to leave the premises without any incident. There is no reason for the IG’s Special Investigation Unit to be seeking to arrest the PA of Igwe Amichi, except that the arrest would be in furtherance of the menace of arresting and intimidating Igwe Amichi using the Nigerian Police Force to accomplish the act.
The police officers from Abuja confirmed that they had been tracking Chief Eric for more than one week.
The Police must understand that the issue in this matter, no matter how coined, is a land matter. A similar bogus charge by the same individuals against Chief Eric is pending before Magistrate Court 4 in Nnewi.
Recall further that some rich men who were trespassing on Igwe Amichi’s land recently crowned Igwe Amichi’s cousin and former PA, as the new Igwe. The plan was to hoist another Igwe on Amichi, who would be more amenable to the rich men’s desire to grab Igwe Amichi’s land through the backdoor. The plan failed when the Anambra State government wrote a cease-and-desist letter to the fake Igwe to cease parading himself as Igwe Amichi. Even during the groundbreaking ceremony on the 17th of May, Chief Anyaegbu and Chief Mike Umeh were heard still referring to Afamefuna Luke Ezeoke as “Igwe Amichi.”
The actions of these men have indelibly divided Amichi into two towns – those with the rich people seeking to forcefully take Igwe’s land, and the ones supporting Igwe Amichi. The situation deteriorated to the extent that the revered Ezeoke Royal Family in Amichi was also divided by these rich men in Amichi.
Unfortunately, Chief Eric Ume-Ezeoke, who is an unapologetic supporter of Igwe Amichi, has been the object of retaliatory harassment by the rich men, using Nigerian Police, thugs, and in some instances, the Nigerian Army, to attempt to intimidate Igwe Amichi and his supporters.
Even the Bishop of Nnewi Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Jonas Benson Okoye ventured into the same land (the land consists of about 6,000 plots located at the boundaries of Amichi-Nnewi-Utuh-Awka-Etiti towns in Nnewi South LGA of Anambra State), and demolished all the buildings at the Leper Colony, and commenced erecting buildings on the land while occupying 106 plots of Igwe Amichi land by force.
The Nnewi High Court 1 issued an injunction for the Bishop to cease his incursion into the land. The Bishop defied the injunction and continues to build on the land, even after he was served with Form 48, and Form 49, and commencing contempt proceedings against him. The Bishop is still defiantly building on the land as of the time of this writing. Based on these acts of defiance, it seems that Nnewi Courts are too feeble, unwilling, or unable to enforce their orders.
The inability of the courts in Nnewi to enforce simple injunctions has emboldened the rich men in Amichi to claim that “no court in Anambra state can arrest us.” The Nnewi Courts need to understand that the fact that Igwe Amichi – who is also an Attorney in the USA, and a Barrister in Nigeria, chose the path of legal redress rather than self-help, cannot be viewed as a weakness and mockery because no one has monopoly of violence. Most of the trespassers on the land were restrained by the court from further encroachment on the land. Each individual defied the court order. The court seems harmless to enforce its own orders.
Chief Eric Ume-Ezeoke was caught in the middle of the squabble. Not only are these rich men and the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi severely encroaching on Igwe Amichi’s land, but the perpetrators are even bolder to chase around Igwe Amichi’s PA with the Nigerian.
Police Force. If the Nigerian Inspector General of Police is unaware of the constant harassment of Igwe Amichi and his supporters by the rich men in Amichi, the IGP must find this piece as an expose of the actions of the rich men in Amichi in cooperation and conspiracy with the NPF.
Additionally, no citizen of Anambra State should use an office such as the Chairman of Anambra State Trust Funds to garner Agberos and Nigerian Police and Army to intimidate the Igwe of his town and to arrest and intimidate the supporters of the Igwe of his town. His Excellency, Governor Professor Soludo, should investigate this matter thoroughly and take appropriate steps and possible sanctions for such unruly and disabling acts perpetrated by some of the individuals holding some revered positions in his government.
Finally, rich men in other neighboring towns are busy constructing roads and doling palliatives to the destitute in their towns. Amichi should emulate such benevolence and cease the concentrated harassment of their Igwe. Secondly, the other prominent stakeholders in Amichi should not sit idly while about two or three rich men in Amichi propagate negative publicity about Amichi. If you love your town, show it. If you prefer to sit on the sidelines and watch the two or three rich men in Amichi ravage and divide your town, be ready to explain your reticence to the next generation.
