Did Ebonyi community ostracise, demolish 94-year- old man’s house?

He is a 94-year-old erstwhile community leader, who contributed to maintain peace, progress as well as ensured the unity of Umuani Anike village, in Ebonyi state, but their peace soon turned awry, his house worth 15 million naira was not only demolished, Pa Omebe Obini was also banished. EGWUAGHA AMARACHUKWU tells why
Umuani Anike village is located in Onicha Igboeze community, under Ezeukwa Development Center of Onicha Local government council of Ebonyi state. Like every other village in Igbo land Umuani Anike has a custom that guides the affairs of the people.
Who is Samson Omebe Obini Pa Samson Omebe Obini a 94 year- old man is a titled chief and chairman of one of the sub committees, Anike Progressive Union(APU) under Anike General Assembly (AGA). He formed part of the decision making in the village as he was part of the people(elders) that made the law guiding the village.
Umuani Anike playground Umuani Anike village has a playground which is known or was known as Afia Eru.
That is a slave market were Eru people all the way from Arochukwu traded slaves during the slave trade era. On abolition of slave trade, the small market became a playground of the village. It shares a common boundary with Obini’s land so are others whose landed property are behind the ground.
Boundary issues Pa Obini in 1991 first had a boundary problem with other members of his kindred who have landed property behind the playground. It was gathered that when he cultivated the land thereby encroached into other peoples’ land. At the period Umuani Anike believed in going to ObiniUkpabia a deity in Arochukwu to get Justice and delegates were sent from the shrine, and accepted boundary was carved out for the parties involved. In 2014, again another boundary issue came up between him and the village which gave birth to the present issue.
This, the villagers allged he tried fencing his compound but took large chunk of the village land(Afia Eru) which they immediately welded into it and stopped him by inviting Anike General Assembly (AGA) again, a common boundary was accepted and every one had peace. In April this year, when the villagers discovered that he (Obini) was fencing his compound again took parts of the community land.
The people, for the second time took the case to AGA and raised an objection. The AGA was said to have invited Obini through a delegate but he turned deaf ears. But they were said to have invited him about five times through different medium, but he turned all down.
The villagers through AGA sent a taskforce team that went and pulled down part of the fence that extended to the playground.
Involvement of police Blueprint authoritatively gathered that against customs of the land Obini took his case to the state Criminal investigative Department (CID) of Nigeria Police, and alleged that the chairman of AGA, Chukwuma Igwe, who also is the coordinator of Eziukwa Development Center, had threatened to kill him, using hoodlums and various weapons which they used in demolishing his building and fence worth 15 million naira while they searched the chairman’s house and found nothing. The matter was thereafter brought before the High Feature Court in Obiozara, and adjourned to 3rd May. Meanwhile when the police spokesperson ASP Loveth Odah, was asked she explained that Igwe has been arrested and undergoing interrogations. “There was an arrest on alleged case of malicious damage involving one Chukwuma Igwe”, she said.
Court arraignment In the court it was read that the chairman Chukwuma Igwe, 49, along other five suspects; Ejiuwaka Igwe, Okoronkwo Nwinyinya, Stanley Ejiofor, Chinedu Igwe and Joel Okorie carried out demolition of Omabe’s building on 30th March 2018 and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 451 of the Criminal Code Cap 33 vol. 1 Laws of Ebonyi state, 2009. About four charges were read to their understanding, they pleaded not guilty.
Pa Obini’s address to journalists Not only did he report to police he equally addressed journalist and paraded a 30 minutes video clip to prove his allegations, adding that this was the second time the coordinator was sponsoring such attack against his property in the village. Pa Omabe who said he has reported the matter to the police, appealed to the state government and human right activists to intervene in the matter. He lamented that his health condition has worsened following the demolition. He said there was no basis for the action considering that he had no land dispute between members of the community or Igwe. Igwe’s reaction In a reaction, Igwe said what was demolished was Pa Obini’s perimeter fencing which constituted a boundary between him and Umuani Anike.
He alleged that the decision to demolish the building was taken by the Anike General Assembly following Pa Obini’s refusal to appear before it for violating the resolution on the disputed boundary.
His exact words “I am the chairman of Anike General Assembly ,the man in question has a land boundary issues with the people of Umuani Anike that is where the man came from, and the people have a problem of a village square called Afia eru. The square was a slave trade market and later turned to village square, they were some shrine their and others during the olden days.
But it has now been turned to a small village square. So at a point the people of Umuani wanted to build a town hall there, the place is close to Obini’s family land. When the village tried to carve a boundary their pa Obini’s said the people were encroaching into his own land now the matter was reported to AGA which I am now their chairman.
Though I was not the chairman as at the time the report came, they took time and asked for those that know about the land to mark boundary between the square and the family after the settlement both parties accepted and did what tradition requires. But when the son of Obini came back from overseas, Dr Maxwell Obini, he said he needed the market to enlarge their compound and was told it would not be possible that the land was a village square he insisted on using the space. Until recently the people(Umuani Kindred) said the want to start building their hall Obini refused insisting that the hall will not be erected there, they now invited the general Assembly again which now am their chairman to come and show where the boundary that was marked in 2014.
We now invited Obini and people of Umuanii for a meeting for the purpose of which a report was made but he refused to come saying that nothing would happen.
He embarked on fencing the land and the people pleaded that he should stop and come for the issue to be resolved, he insisted, we called him for a meeting which he turned down as a big man, saying that nobody can stop him. Three times we sent delegates to go and beg him to come and answer Anike, we gave him that respect as an elderly man, but he turned down all our gestures. Until one Sunday, the people decided not to wait nor plead with him again and chose to demolish the fence, the portion that encroached in their land.
Did Igwe use thugs on obini’s family? He denied using hoodlums as alleged, saying he has no thugs. “I have never had any quarrel, dispute or altercation of any kind with him, as to warrant to kill, assault, intimidate or harass him or alleged. He is old enough to be my father. Coincidentally on the date mentioned in the petition(16th,29th and 30th march,2018 that I invaded chief Obini’s compound with weapons, I was not at home”.
Why the village did not take the matter to court “We have a way of settling matters in the village, we have a peace and security committee, any matter of such or fighting is always brought before the elders which made up the committee and resolve the problem, but this very man refused to come and answer.
He is claiming he has a lot of money and can do whatever he wanted. If he had answered Anike people and was not satisfi ed with the judgment he has the right to appeal further, because we have a higher court after Anike people, we have Anike versus Onicha and so on. We have a bigger town union and they all have procedure” Igwe said.
Responses from villagers Further investigation by Blueprint confirmed what the chairman statement. Mr Obasi Ukpa, assistant chairman, AGA on his part said, “when I heard that Pa Obini was erecting a fencing encroaching into the community land I went to him to remind him that the land he is delving into was a public property and when there is quarrel or land dispute between two persons it is usually taken to the village for peace, during the process nobody is allowed to go into the land till peace is restored and whoever the case favours is allowed to build or do whatever he wants with the land.
This tradition has been in existence for ages. “What he replied me was that I should go that nobody can stop him from erecting the fence, that such a person has not been given birth to as long as the community is concerned, it was at that point that I reminded him that they were the people that made the law, because he(Obini) is the chairman of Anike Progressive Union.
“After my interaction with him I went back to Anike people and delivered my message to them because they were the people that sent me to him. After which they sent a town crier to go round the village to pass the information for everybody to assemble at the town hall he also declined the call. After about four to five days again, the call was repeated he again failed to honour the call. For five times, Anike people invited him to know what the problem was he turned them down repeatedly he said nobody can stop him it was at that point that the people took the decision to bring down the fence, because one man cannot be bigger than the community. An elder, Stephen A Okoro, from Umuani, said chief Omebe Obini is from Umuani too, our coordinator is also from Umuani we all are from the same Umuani kindred. “When this matter came up, the ground in contest is Umuani Anike playground.
The playground has existed for more than 200 years ago, when slave trade was still in existence. People from Arochukwu did trade all sort of slave trade went on there. Himself (Obini) knew of the play ground. When his children grew and became wealthy he decided to fence his compound, his compound is behind the playground and so is my family land, but he started taken part of the general land which is the playground, we pleaded with him to stop but he refused, so we (Umuani Anike kindred) went and reported him to Anike General Assembly and paid 2700 naira as the custom demands for him to stop work on the land and wait for the special committee that judges cases in the Village to speak on the matter.
The assembly sent delegate to stop him from erecting the fence he refused, they again sent the assembly provost and some other persons to him, he refused,then the third time the assembly used town crier to invite him and the villagers for a meeting he did not attend, they now sent a memo to him for the fourth time he did not honour the people it was at that point that the villagers assembled and decided to embark on the action of pulling down the fence.
We served him paper on Sunday 1st April, on Monday he embarked on the fencing work then the villagers on Wednesday 4th April went and pulled down the fence since he had refused to answer their call.
The next thing he did instead of coming to the people was to bring state CID from Abakaliki and alleged that about six person were threatening to kill him.
The officers went back and referred us to a Magistrate Court which the elders went and made their statement and they were asked to come back on 3rd May. Obini not minding that he has dragged the villagers to police and has the case in court allegedly started cultivating the land it was at this process that we now put a palm frond there to traditionally stop him from entering the land. I believe that his boat of producing nine graduates and being rich went into his head, it made him commonize every other person in the village.
The boundary problem has lasted for decades (1991) when our people believed in going to a deity in Arochukwu(Obiniukpabia) to get justice. In 2014 the village went to the land to made use of theirs he refused saying they encroached into his own it was then that the AGA came into the case for the first time and made peace by demarcating it for them he equally accepted the judgment. Pastor John Okorie general secretary AGA described the matter as a village affair not a personal matter. The entire village agreed that Obini’s fence which encroached into the village land be removed. Nobody went after his family not to talk of raising a whip on anybody.
Obini, family ostracised? Meanwhile, a communique issued by AGA after their general meeting on 18th April 2018 and signed by about ten stakeholders resolved as follows: “That Mr Omabe Nwobini, his entire family and other possible supporters are hence forth ostracised by the entire people of Anike-pending when they may voluntarily come for peaceful settlement. “In view of the above,he (Omabe Nwobini)is therefore no longer qualified to hold any position of trust in Anike.
“That any indigene of Anike who communicates or has any form of interaction with him will be punished as maybe dedicated by the AGA. “That any of his children who disassociate himself from the issues raised against their father in writing to AGA maybe considered for exoneration “.

Leave a Reply