A few days after the confrontation between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and naval personnel over an allegedly illegal property development linked to a former Chief of Naval Staff, residents of Owo, the hometown of Enugu State Governor Dr. Peter Mbah, on Monday staged a peaceful protest against what they described as an invasion and destruction of property by the Nigerian Army.
They alleged that soldiers were attempting to forcibly seize their ancestral land.
The protesters accused the military of intimidation and misuse of state security assets despite an existing court order barring soldiers from entering the disputed land.
They appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene urgently.
The demonstration, which escalated tension in the area, saw residents—including women and elderly persons—holding placards with inscriptions such as “Remove soldiers, restore peace,” “Owo land is not barracks,” “Stop the invasion,” “Respect the constitution,” “Say no to military land grabbing,” “President Tinubu, save us from military intimidation,” and “Army, leave our land alone.”
Addressing journalists, counsel to the community, Igwenagu Ngene, recounted that the military first entered the area in November 2015, leaving residents stunned when soldiers marked structures with inscriptions reading, ‘Remove, Army land, keep off’.
He said soldiers also mounted billboards and survey beacons across the community, asserting ownership of the entire area. Ngene explained that he wrote on behalf of the community to the General Officer Commanding the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, in November 2015, demanding the withdrawal of troops stationed there.
According to him, when no positive response came from the 82 Division, the community petitioned the Enugu State Government and the Enugu State House of Assembly, seeking intervention over what they described as an attempt at annihilation, land grabbing, and an unlawful takeover of an entire settlement.
“Except in a case of military conquest, where after conquering, you possibly annex it and make it part of your own, but this is not the case here,” he declared.
Ngene added that they also petitioned the Ministry of Lands in Enugu, which convened a meeting between the Army and the community. However, he said the Army declined to make any statement during the deliberations and maintained its claim that the entire land belonged to the military.
He stated that after all attempts at peaceful resolution failed, the matter was escalated to the National Assembly. Following a fact-finding visit and multiple hearings, lawmakers reportedly directed the Army to vacate the land, as it failed to produce any document supporting its ownership claim.
Ngene told journalists that the military withdrew after that intervention but returned in April 2025, prompting the community to obtain a court injunction in suit No. 375/2025 against the Nigerian Army. He said the Enugu State High Court, presided over by Justice C. O. Ajah, issued a restraining order directing the Army to stay off the land pending the final determination of the suit.
Speaking in his palace, the traditional ruler of Owo, Igwe Godwin Okeke Arum, who appeared emotional, condemned the situation. “It is disheartening that a whole community will be asked to quit to nowhere for no reason other than the fact that some people are wielding guns and jackboots bought with taxpayers’ money,” he said.
He recalled that, “Sometime in 2015, a team of the Nigerian Army came to the community and started mounting billboards around the entire community, asking us to quit, that this is Army land. We became astonished and we engaged our legal advisor. But they are not heeding the courts or rule of law.”
Igwe Arum alleged that soldiers had harassed residents, demolished ongoing projects, and driven investors away. He added that the Army had even threatened to seize his palace, community shrines, and the ancestral home of the state governor.
The President-General of Owo community, Chief John Ogbu, also addressed journalists, urging both the state and Federal Government to urgently intervene.
