Enugu community battles native doctor over land · They are jealous of my fortunes, popularity – Native doctor

By SUNDAY ANI (NICHSUNNY@YAHOO.COM)

Abbi Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State was turned into a mini-war theatre when on November 15; the people of Nrobo, a neighbouring community invaded a housing estate belonging to a native doctor, Emmanuel Udoji. Dr Udoji, who said he is a native of Abbi acquired a massive parcel of land which extended into Nrobo community, where several units of housing are being constructed. According to the native doctor, he had embarked on the construction of a police post having obtained permission to do that following incessant robbery attacks on his clients along the road leading to the community from Baracks junction in Nsukka to Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area. A police post and a cell had already been built with quarters for some of the police officers who would be posted to the community. He said he had also applied and obtained permission to establish a neighbourhood watch in the community. He had also erected structures to accommodate members of the neighbourhood watch to be formed in the community. But, the bubble burst and hell was let loose when on November 15, the scheduled date for commissioning of the projects, the youth of Nrobo community came out en masse to resist any attempt to commission the structures, a situation which eventually degenerated to the burning and pulling down of some of the structures. The angry youth eventually chased everybody away from the event centre including Dr Udoji, who ran into hiding. The police team from Nsukka Area Command which was alleged to have gone to witness the commissioning of the police post, cell and quarters, also disappeared when the angry youth surged with different lethal weapons.

On what informed his decision to establish a police post, cell and quarters in the community, Udoji said: “I am a native doctor, who has a very high patronage and my customers testify to the potency of my medicine. But, most of my customers complain that some criminals attack them on the way to my place. The road leading to my place starting from Baracks junction to Nimbo is ungraded, very bad and criminal- infested. So, I felt that bringing a police post and neighbourhood watch to the place would stamp out or reduce to the barest minimum, criminal activities in the area. I then wrote to the state government to enable me establish a neighbourhood watch and I got the approval. I also appealed to the Nsukka Police Area Commander to enable me establish police post and I got the approval. I went ahead to build Police Quarters and Police Post with cell as well as quarters for the yet-to-be recruited members of the Neighbourhood watch. November 15 was scheduled for the formal inauguration of neighbourhood watch and commissioning of the police post. The occasion had commenced and we were in the process of giving people food when the angry mob came and set fire on my house and everything I have built. The houses they burnt were 24 in number. The whole estate had been burnt down.”

Asked why the Nrobo people, not even Abbi people, would destroy projects of such magnitude, he said: “They said they didn’t want the police and Neighbourhood watch to be located there. In 2010, they formed a team with one pastor and came to my place to shoot gun sporadically. They said I am a native doctor and I am progressing.”

Although, Dr Udoji accused some top politicians from the community of instigating the Nrobo youth to carry out the arson, he maintained that his only offence was trying to bring about security in his domain. He also said the people were not comfortable with his rising profile and popularity as notable men patronise him from far and near.

On what he intends to do next, since he has abandoned his Abbi community in order to save his life, he said: “As it is now, I am on the run because they want me dead. They are after my entire family; so we are on the run for now but I am also waiting to see what the government will do about the matter. If government does not do anything to bring the arsonists to book and ensure the security of my life and that of my family, I will look for another town where I will settle. What I am saying is that they have said they would kill me and every member of my family; so if nothing is done to restore normalcy and peace and ensure that justice takes it course, I will not go back to the place again. Only a tree sees death coming and still stands. I will have to protect my life and that of my family first by running away if urgent drastic steps are not taken by government to redress the issues.”

However, when our reporter visited Abbi, the scene of the wanton destruction, about 12 structures were seated on a very large expanse of land. Aside a story building, which probably served as his official residence and two solid bungalows, the remaining were small structures of maybe, a room and palour. And about seven of them were touched by the Nrobo youth. The proposed police post was utterly brought to its foundation.

When our reporter entered the Nrobo community to find out why they should destroy such beautifully and carefully conceived projects, a new chapter to the crisis was opened. An elderly man whose house is very close to the estate accused Dr Udoji of taking people’s land by force and threatening to deal with them the African way if they raised an eye brow. He said he had done that to several people in Abbi and nobody dared to challenge him. “But the game changed when he continued in his expansionist expedition and encroached badly into the land of Nrobo people. We cannot fold our hands and watch somebody who is not even from Abbi to take our farmlands from us simply because he said he is a native doctor and can charm anybody who confronts him,” he said.

Some Nrobo youth who spoke on the condition of anonymity to our reporter corroborated the elderly man’s submission and added, “We had to act fast because as soon as the police post is commissioned, it becomes a government property and any action on it, will amount to vandalising government property.” According to one of them, “The policemen that came from Nsukka wanted to deceive us but we were smart and wise enough to suspect their move. When they came and saw the angry villagers filled everywhere, they asked what our annoyance was and we told them that the land belongs to us and that Udoji took it by force from us using his magic powers. They said they would no longer commission the project until a later date when the whole matter must have been amicably resolved. They left and asked us to also go back to our houses but we suspected their approach and some of us remained behind while others left. But, true to our suspicion, after some time, they came back thinking that we had all dispersed. They were in the process of commissioning the project when we regrouped and attacked the place. We destroyed some of the buildings and chased everybody away. Even Dr Udoji with his charms could not wait when he saw the surging angry mob; he ran away and up till now, we still do not know his whereabouts.”

On why they took the law into their hands, they said: “We did what we did because we discovered that he had bribed his way and if we allow the commissioning to happen, then we would have the government to contend with anytime we rise up to claim the land. He said he bought the land from an Nrobo man and when we asked him to name the person, he couldn’t. We also asked him to produce the purchase documents and he couldn’t. So, there is no way we could allow one man to come all the way from Kogi State to take over our land because he is a native doctor with magic powers. He could have waited to display his magical powers if he was that powerful.”

Further investigation revealed that the entire people of Nrobo swore to an oath to keep fighting in order to regain their land until nobody was alive in that community. They agreed that even if only one person remained alive, the person would continue fighting to reclaim the land until he succeeds or he is killed like others. That was the spirit that emboldened the people of Nrobo to confront the police on November 15, when the projects were to be commissioned.

But, a young man from Abbi, who simply identified himself as Chibueze, was filled with joy when our reporter approached him for his comment. To him, it was good riddance to bad rubbish. He said: “Thank God he finally met people who taught him a little lesson. He has been terrorising the people of Abbi with his charms; confiscating people’s land without anybody putting up any challenge. There was a woman who had provision store within the community; he drove the woman away from his shop and converted it to part of his estate. He kept chasing people out of their land until he stepped over to Nrobo land. Those ones could not tolerate his excesses, so they gave it back to him.”

Another person fuming with anger at Udoji said: “Can you imagine that this Udoji of a man would come into this village with escort, blasting siren and sometimes shooting guns in the air just to scare and intimidate us. He won’t do that in Nsukka; he only does that when he gets into this village. I am happy at what the Nrobo people did because if they had kept quiet, he would have confiscated their lands just like he had done to so many Abbi people. And who knows what his next line of action could have been; so, I am very happy at what happened. I am sure wherever he is, he would have learnt his lessons.”

When the Police Area Commander, Nsukka, was contacted on phone to confirm what Udoji said regarding permission to build a police post within his estate in Abbi and the police involvement in the botched commissioning, he declined comment saying, “We don’t talk about this kind of issues on phone because I am not sure of the identity of the person who is talking.”