Onyebuchi Onwuchekwa, Owerri
There’s a major crisis brewing in Ndipka kindred, Abba Autonomous Community, Imo State, after a wealthy NNPC contractor, Engineer Ambrose Chukwunyere Uzoma, allegedly blocked an existing Nwangele local government-approved access road with a high fence.
This move has divided the community, with brothers rising against brothers over a disputed 5-foot parcel of land within the road.
The blockade has prevented residents from accessing their homes, farmland, and village town hall site, sparking protests and condemnations.
The root of the crisis is attributed to avarice and jealousy, allegedly orchestrated by Engineer Uzoma,who was said to have dared the incumbent Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma and challenged the Constitutional powers of Nwangele local Government Area and State Government in establishing a developmental Access Road without recourse to him.
Following his avowed boastful challenge to the state government, the super rich and influential oil and gas Federal Government Contractor, Engineer Uzoma, about two weeks ago, barricaded and built a high Fence on an existing Nwangele local government approved Ndipka, Abba Community access road, thereby unlawfully denying residents movement into and out of their houses and farmland.
Unable to get Nwangele Local government and the state government’s immediate action to free the community from imposed blockade and restrictions, the village Youths went on rampage.
Investigator news reports that the community’s youths have vowed to resist the Uzoma family’s intimidation and oppression, while some elders blame a decades-long kingship tussle within the Abba Community for the Uzoma family’s alleged rascality.
Our Correspondent in Owerri, Imo State,reports that the Communal Crisis,follows the alleged arbitrary and selfish action of this former NNPC Director,known as Money Bag and now Government Contractor,Engineer Ambrose Chukwunyere Uzoma ,who is alleged to have in collaboration with his other rich brothers based in Diaspora, such as Peter Uzoma and Chief Valine Uzoma,willfully blocked with high Fence, an existing Nwangele local government approved Ndipka Access Road,long created for rapid development in the Area.
According to findings by Crime Reporters who visited the scene two weeks ago, danger looms ,there is palpable fear in the village that imminent crisis may erupt anytime soon, unless Imo State Government , under Governor Hope Uzodinma intervenes urgently and immediately.
In one out of the series of protests that rocked the community, the aggrieved Youths equally vowed to “deal decisively with all saboteurs,identified Collaborators to the crisis orchestrated against Ndipka kindred, especially the likes of Tobechukwu Ohaegbu and Hilary Uzoho”, who they described as” bootlickers , men with dead conscience, who because of peanut and paltry sums of money, chose to remain on the Payroll of the Uzoma family, doing their bidding ,brewing disharmony,which has paralyzed Social, Economic,Security, Environmental Political Activities in the once peaceful kindred”.
It is instructive and remarkable that Some aggrieved Elders in the Community blames the decades age long Kingship tussel in Abba Community,between two blood brothers from the same Umuduruagwu lineage ,as precursor to the alleged rascality and high headedness been exhibited by the Uzoma family.
Following the said unlawful blockage of the access road, Crime Reporters observed in one of their under cover visits,that children, women and elderly men were seen attempting to scale through the New fence to access their houses, farmland and the kindreds town hall site.
Our Correspondent also noted that Many of the Ndipka residents who were seen wearing mourning and long faces, were afraid to speak to Crime Reporters for fear of their lives, as they alleged that few sycophants and paid agents of Engineer Ambrose Uzoma’s family ,are going about intimidating people,dangling High Court form 48 and Form 49 , seeking for those to rope in for contempt of Court.
While grumbling and lamenting, some of the aggrieved residents were audibly heard cursing those responsible for what they described as “abominable and wicked action of blocking an ancient access road”, which they claimed human and spirits uses daily and regularly.
It was gathered that earlier attempts to fence the Ndipka access road by the said Uzoma family was resisted by some unknown youths, who allegedly pulled down the blockade to the admiration of the entire kindred.
The audacity of the unknown youths was said to have angered the Money bags in Uzoma’s family, who approached the high court sitting in Nkwerre with their team of Senior Advocates Of Nigeria,SANs, and allegedly acquired a favourable ruling , which granted them right only to about 5 feet size of their acclaimed family land which fell into the Nwangele LGA Approved Ndipka Village Access Road .
However, in a clear move to ostensibly scare residents and ostentatiously exhibit the full weight of their family wealth and Judicial connections, some of the villagers who spoke on the grounds of anonymity, alleged that the Uzoma family immediately they collected the judgment, “threw Caution into the winds and quickly erected a high wall blocking the access road, thereby unlawfully denying the entire residents,other land owners, access to their property and houses, adding that the actions of Uzoma family undermined and unconstitutionally impinged on their freedom of movement , association and access to government road , especially the fundamental rights of one of their illustrious son, Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu, who they said is based in the USA, whose Palatial Mansion was deliberately blocked at both ends of the road.
Going down memory lane, two vocal and outspoken Youths, who dared the perceived consequences and identified themselves as Onyema Ndukwe and Eugene Ana, gave a graphic account of the Genesis of the crisis .
According to them, ” As a progressive Youths in Ndipka, we will not watch and allow Evil overcome our village. For long Uzoma family have made excessive money through NNPC oil and gas and sincerely have been Lording it over everyone in the kindred.
Infact,this is not their first time,they don’t want anyone else to rise to recognition, first we can remember was our late Uncle ,Dee izionu ,who stayed long in Britain before returning home and graciously established a garri processing company and palm oil Mill in our community.
It is on record that the moment the Uzoma’s saw him as a threat to their popularity,they battled Dee Izionu over some parcels of land until he died”.
Continuing, they stated thus : “Now about 5 years ago, One dynamic , adorable,kind hearted, progressive youth, called Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu, with Chieftaincy Title of “Aluma Aluma, Amara dike 1″, who had escaped the pull him down syndrome in Ndipka , ran to USA and conquered poverty, stayed and made money.
Ever since he started visiting village from America,he has been empowering and impacting on the lives of everyone, especially the Youth.He even bought land for our village town hall, which has been blocked by the obnoxious fence”.
Subsequently, ” He bought another land for his personal house and investment building projects from one of our kinsman, Mr. Simeon Nwadike, unfortunately the Uzoma family who are directly related to Simeon Nwadike , had tried in vain to purchase the same land from him but to no avail”.
“As usual, the purchase of this land by Chief Aluma Aluma, which the wealthy Uzoma’s attach so much significance to,was like an efforntery and challenge to the Uzoma’s, who refused to grant him right of way and traditional access road but turned to accused the young Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu of aggregating their land without consent.
To make matters worst, the local government approved the Ndipka Village Access Road which ran through those lands owned by many residents and named the road after Chief Cletus Elendu’s father”.
Determined to initiate crisis and frustrate Chief Cletus Elendu, ” The next move was that the Uzoma’s hired one known worthless fellow who eats through crisis in our community,called Tobechukwu Ohaegbu, who came intimidating the residents with an earth moving equipment,at the instance of the Uzoma’s family, with an evil aim to dig a fish pond directly in front of the entrance gate of Chief Cletus newly completed and commissioned housing project, but some of the youth chased him away with the pay loader caterpillar he brought “.
Regrettably, “Thinking that was the end of the dramas, the next thing was the audacious and senseless fencing of the access road by the same Uzoma family, luckily some unknown people came and destroyed the fence they erected which barricaded our Ndipka kindred access road.
This heroic pulling down of the obnoxious fence blockade by the unknown persons, elicited appreciation and applauses from the entire residents”.
Angered, “And having concluded in their usual characteristics that the entire kindred supports and hail the developmental strides coming through Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu, the Uzoma’s family became enraged and ran to court in the year 2020 to find solace”.
Unfortunately, ” nobody took them serious initially, before we know it, they brought their acquired judgement, which they claimed allowed them to take back the 5 feet size of their own portion of land in the local government approved Ndipka access road”.
Contrary to the judgement, ” instead of sticking to the letters and interpretation of the judgment, they unlawfully rushed and built a new fence and cut off the entire residents, including those who owns farm lands, house and even our new village hall site donated by the same Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu ,were under barricade and blockage, just like those at war”.
Querying Correspondents, they asked “As Crime Reporters, tell us which law, constitution or Court Judgement permits sealing of a village access road by an individual or group?.
Which power denies a community their freedom of movement and Association because of one Rich man’s 5 feet size land that unavoidably entered a community road project?. We thought that in this Country’s land use Act, land is in the custody of the Governor on behalf of the people and also the local government has right over rural roads, Market and development”.
Speaking on Peace and mediation carried out by the community, they stated, “Despite all entireties, pleas, to forgive and allow harmonious relationship, the wealthy, arrogant and merciless Uzoma family Chieftains, insisted initially that part of conditions to make them retreat, is that Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu must come and apologize to them for making an offensive voice note against them, which he allegedly made out of provocation,after they blocked entrance to his house, ( which Chief Azubuihe Patrick confirmed in a voice note that Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu did apologized twice). Secondly,that he will jettison his Chieftaincy Title Name of ‘Aluma Aluma Amara dike’ ; Again, Change the official Nwangele local government approved road name delineated for the Ndipka Village Access Road , just because it was named after Chief Cletus Ugochukwu’s father’s . There were other Dictatorial conditions “.
The Youths noted that it was ” Very worrisome and abhorrent that when the Uzoma’s family have lost their honor due to their ,created crisis in the kindred, they quickly sent unknown people to destroy the same fence recently, this was to enable them to continue witch-hunting youths, Elders,opposition and opponents with their so called Contempt of Court forms 48 and 49″.
When our Correspondent peeped into the Ndipka Progressive Forum Platform as shown by the Onyema Ndukwe phone, it became evidential and clearly shows that majority of the village youths, Elders home and Abroad , such as Chief Patrick Azubuihe a.k.a . ( Babadudu), Ambrose Onuegbu, Chimezie Festus,Chief Godwin Eligwe, Chief Christian Okenyeka, Chief Cletus Uzoho,Izuchukwu Ndupu, A.O.N Israel, Ekeogu Kenneth, Professor Joseph Chimezie, Anthony Odoemena, Cyril Chimezie, Caminus Onuegbu, Benson Chimezie, Chimezie George, Emmanuel Chimezie, Dominic Elendu, Chris Elendu, Valentine Iwuozor, Emmanuel Onyekachi, Morality and so many others , affirmed that they have been soliciting, calling on the three major rich and prominent Uzoma’s ,such as, Elder Ambrose Uzoma, Peter Uzoma and Chief Valine Oputa Obie Uzoma ,to tow the part of peace, tolerance and allow for the amicable settlement of the matter, which they said was at its best , brotherly misunderstanding.
In the said platform, the kindred Chairman and Village Leaders have come under severe several attacks from members,for their alleged partiality ,while other Elders were facing criticisms for compromising their position due to gratifications they have been collecting from the two contenders, thereby prolonging the crisis for over five years.
Efforts to speak with Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu, Chief Valine Uzoma Peter Uzoma ,Elder Ambrose Uzoma and their village leaders, proved abortive,as most of them were confirmed by residents interviewed at the popular Nkwoebu market, to be based abroad, in Warri , Aba , Portharcout and lagos State etc.
However, following alleged ongoing witch hunting to arrest dicenting and opposing voices, the Abba Town Youth Organization led by Barrister Denis Chimezie as President and Comrade C.J. Adibe, Secretary, recently published a disclaimer, disassociating their members from the ongoing dispute, the brewing crisis and pulling down of the fence.
In one of the statements in the platform signed by Mr . Peter Uzoma, obviously celebrating his family favourable Court Judgement ,while threatening supposed trespassers and stating Uzoma’s family positions, it stated in summary that the acquisition of their portion of land was based on deceit and lies .
He frowned at the alleged pulling down of the fence barricade and warned of impending drastic measures, which includes prosection of suspects in their wanted list.
This is even as one of the youths and local Vigilante, who identified himself as Mr. Ifeanyi, has raised the alarm, alleging plots to vandalize and possibly burn down Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu’s house situated on the disputed Ndipka access road by persons he did not mention.
As at the time of going to Press, local vigilante personnel were sighted patrolling the said Chief Cletus Ugochukwu Elendu’s house ,possibly to wade off threats of vandalism and arson.
It is expected that the early intervention by the Nwangele local government and Imo State government will avert this brewing crisis and brothers against brothers war.
Meanwhile, residents expect that the scheduled August 23rd ,2025 meeting of Ndipka Progressive Union ,as announced by Mr. Valentina Iwuozor, has no other option than to ensure that the land and access road dispute, which has generated bad blood between brothers, is settled amicably, to forestall future and mysterious fatalities in the hitherto peaceful Ndipka village in Abba Community, Imo State.
