Youths and women from Umunenweze Okpuala community in Okaigu, Umuahia North Local Government Area, demonstrated at Abia State Government House on Wednesday over alleged land grabbing. They accused their traditional ruler, Eze Paul Onuigbo Uzuegbu, and others of forging documents to sell or donate communal farmland to private estate developers. The protesters claimed multiple plots belonging to present and future generations had been disposed of without consent. Okechukwu Uzuegbu, the community secretary, said bulldozers brought in by developers had destroyed farms and economic trees. He alleged that false letters were submitted to the state government, claiming the community had surrendered land rights. "Any further trespass will be viewed as deliberate incitement to chaos," he warned. The protesters called for intervention by Governor Alex Otti. In response, Magdalene Ugoanusi, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on local government and chieftaincy affairs, acknowledged receipt of a letter on the matter at the Chief of Staff's office. She urged the community to refrain from violence and to submit a detailed list of complaints to the state government. Ugoanusi said the government would review the issue and involve Obi Aguocha, member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal constituency, in efforts to resolve the dispute peacefully.
Eze Paul Onuigbo Uzuegbu is accused of signing off on land deals using forged documents while claiming to represent a community that now denounces him. The same man entrusted with preserving ancestral heritage is alleged to have enabled its erosion through paperwork the villagers say they never approved. Okechukwu Uzuegbu's warning against further trespass suggests trust in the traditional institution has already collapsed. If Obi Aguocha must now mediate, it is because the system meant to protect communal land failed at the point of origin.
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