By Sandra Kenneth
The Rivers State House of Assembly has launched a full-scale fact-finding investigation into a massive land dispute involving over 6,000 plots of land at Victory Estate in Rumuosi, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
The assembly has mandated the Committee on Public Petitions to carry out the investigation.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Enemi George, who led lawmakers on an oversight and on-site assessment visit to the area, revealed that the conflict was one of 14 urgent petitions currently being handled.
The intervention followed petitions by landowners, who accused one Chief Colonel Ogwuwerum-Eke of pulling down buildings and leveling structures while claiming ownership of the vast property.
Speaking during the visit, George stated that preliminary findings by the committee indicate the area being claimed by Ogwuwerum-Eke falls outside the scope of the court judgment he had been relying on to assert ownership. The lawmaker also frowned at the accused refusal to cooperate with the legislature, noting that Ogwuwerum-Eke had repeatedly ignored invitations to appear before the committee, forcing lawmakers to visit the site and engage directly with the affected victims.
While condemning the incident, George described land grabbing as a critical issue plaguing the state that must be decisively tackled. He urged all parties to maintain the peace and formally directed the Chairman of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council to deploy adequate security to the area to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
Among the structures affected by the dispute is a major professional facility belonging to the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Rivers State Chapter.
The state PSN Chairman, Lekia Princewill, lamented that the society’s building on the disputed land was already 80 percent complete before the crisis. He explained that the facility was structurally designed to serve as a vital resource center for drug analysis and other essential pharmaceutical operations in the state.
Providing clarity on the communal boundaries, the spokesperson for the Rumuosi community countered claims made by Chief Ogwuwerum-Eke, maintaining that the disputed land sits entirely within the Rumuosi Kingdom and shares absolutely no boundary with the neighboring Rumuaghorlu community.
