By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Founder of United Business Women Association (UBWA), Chief Amb. Nkiruka Duru has refuted the unfounded allegations and falsehood which has flooded the social media space involving her in a multi million naira land fraud, describing the articles as baseless, the handwork of detractors and enemies of progress geared towards disparaging her good image with intentions to draw unnecessary public sympathy.
Addressing newsmen at UBWA Secretariat Onitsha, Anambra State, Amb. Nkiruka Duru, who was pained that her good intentions to better the lives of widows and women all over the 36 states of the federation and beyond the coast of Africa with her NGO, UBWA was partly subverted by the Late Uju Ezeobi, the so-called innocent life “who falsely paraded herself as a lawyer to embezzle funds belonging to UBWA before nemesis caught up with her.
Recounting her ordeals beginning from the Achalla Land Investment, Amb Nkiruka Duru said that she started UBWA, a Non Governmental Organization registered with CAC in February 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown giving out palliatives to widows and the less privileged women at various Local Government Areas in Anambra which later extended to other parts of the country.
Amb. Duru said that it was later in 2021 that the Uju Ezeobi (now late) approached her through one of UBWA Members during a Thanksgiving outing service at Ebube Muonso’s parish at Umudioka and requested to join UBWA and partner with the NGO, claiming that she was a legal practitioner or Barrister.
According to Amb. Duru, “In 2021, I decided to go into land acquisition so as to keep all the women in my NGO together with a vision to build UBWA Estate. I went to Achalla community, Awka North L.G.A., where I met one Mr. Okechukwu Okoye, who claimed to be the Achalla Community Land Realtor/Agent and requested for about 2000 plots of land which he said was available for sale.
“I told Uju Ezeobi as one of our lawyers and she told me to give her two weeks to make inquiries. After the expiration of two weeks Uju Ezeobi said UBWA can go ahead and purchase.
“I told Mr Okechukwu Okoye to give us power of attorney and an account number to pay in by installments. When Mr Okechukwu Okoye provided his personal account number, I told Uju Ezeobi about it which she approved saying that it would not be a problem since according to her inquiry the man was a middle man for the Achalla community.
“Mr Okechukwu Okoye sold the land to me at the rate of 200,000 naira per plot and we told UBWA Members to pay 250,000 naira for each plot while we told non members to pay 300,000 naira for each.”
“After some time, Uju Ezeobi pleaded that there were about 60 persons (non members) she would bring saying that I should allow her to pay at the rate of 250,000 naira. After refusing initially, I eventually agreed after she pleaded with me, only for her to be collecting higher sums of money from those people but remitting the rate of 250,000 naira each for those 60 plots or more.
“After paying up to 101 million naira to Mr. Okechukwu Okoye, we decided to take possession of the land he showed us, at least, to the tune of how much we have paid, telling him that we may settle for 600 plots until later only to discover that Mr Okechukwu Okoye had syphoned the whole money without giving any money to Achalla Community/land owners. The community refused us access saying that Okoye gave them no money. That was how our millions of naira went into a limbo.
“Before we caught Mr Okechukwu Okoye, he paid 11 million naira to Umudiana family in Achalla for a fresh land bargain and rushed to the court to file a suit against me Nkiruka Duru and Uju Ezeobi as Defendants accusing us for not paying for up to 2000 plots of land that UBWA promised to buy.
“I took this matter of the remaining 90 million naira to EFCC since July 2024 and Uju Ezeobi was very much aware of it. In fact, she had been helping me to explain to our members through UBWA WhatsApp platforms to exercise patience on the first land matter with updates.
“So, which land fraud of 200 million naira land investment did Uju Ezeobi or her accomplices or the writer of those articles uncover or report to police or divert according to that malicious publication?”
Continuing, Ambassador Duru also recounted how Uju Ezeobi landed herself into trouble and how the entire issue escalated, attributing same to greediness.
“Let me tell you how Uju Ezeobi got herself into trouble because of greed. When the first land got into problem in 2022, then in 2023, Mr. Okechukwu Okoye secured the 11 million naira land from Umudiana family Achalla and gave it to us at 200,000, we decided to give it to interested UBWA members at 360,000 naira. By then, I had been afflicted with a poison —resulting to a dangerous sickness that almost cost my life at the time. Consequently, I delegated Uju Ezeobi and UBWA Secretary, Mrs. Chinwe Ekunie, to handle the sale of the new Umudiana family Achalla Land.
“Uju Ezeobi told the Secretary Mrs Chinwe Ekunie to provide her account (Sonia Global), made herself a co-signatory to the Sonia Global Bank account. Uju Ezeobi also removed my name as signatory to the land documents, Uju removed my son’s name as signatory and forged the signature of my elder sister who was also a signatory to the land documents. She did all these without my consent, claiming that she did it to enable easy access of funds and land documentation because I was not readily available due to illness.
“What broke the camel’s back was that Uju Ezeobi went against our organization’s policy by increasing the price of land. Our rule at all the places we had acquired or sold lands (be it at Urum, Delta, Kuje, Nasarrawa, etc, managed by other UBWA lawyers without any single issue) is that once we fix a price for members, it cannot be changed, no matter how long it takes to sell off those plots of land. I was observing the UBWA WhatsApp platform and saw that Uju raised the amount from 360,000 naira to 420,000 naira.
“When I queried her, she said that Achalla youths demanded extra money for settlement. After a while, Uju raised the amount again to 520,000 naira, and I could no longer tolerate that.
“So, I instructed Uju to remove the last 100,000 she added, but she refused, and people were still paying the N520,000 into the Sonia Global account and showing evidence of payments on our platform. I had to invite Uju Ezeobi to come and render account for me since 2024, but she refused, only for her to text me that she was ‘too precious’ to come and answer my invitation.
“Refusing to account for this Umudiana family Achalla land with the advice of my other lawyers, I wrote to Inspector General of Police through the Central Police Station, Onitsha, who invited her for questioning. Uju refused to answer the invitation, but wrote a petition against me at the State CID, and further wrote petition against me to Zone 13 Ukpo, claiming that the Umudiana family Achalla land was her personal property. I also petitioned Uju at the Zone 13 for several misconducts as my staff, including her refusal to account for UBWA fund which only her and my Secretary had access to.
“Zone 13 invited me and Uju. At Zone 13 Ukpo, Uju claimed in her statement that I embezzled 90 million (despite knowing that we have a case before the court and EFCC on the matter with the real dupe Mr. Okechukwu Okoye).
“Zone 13 pleaded with Uju to settle the case amicably with me, but instead, she ran to petition me at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, claiming that one DIG was inviting me for the case. I refused the invitation because the matter is already before the IG his superior. Severally, Uju has tried to arrest me for no justifiable cause.
“At one time, the police from Abuja arrested me and detained me at Asaba till evening, before I was eventually released. At another occasion Uju used police to arrest me (the UBWA Founder), our security man at the Umudiana family Achalla land and another UBWA member claiming ownership of the land.
“Uju went to a court at Abuja and filed a suit against me claiming that she was the owner of the lands/property which led to the closure of 5 bank accounts belonging to me. Remember that she had already pinned the Sonia Global Bank account making her the only person who can access the funds therein.
“However, when the court saw that Uju Ezeobi was lying against me, the court ordered for the re-opening/unblocking of those account; yet the banks could not, because she used a particular police segment officer, Stanley Nwaka, who used his connection to keep the accounts blocked, which is contempt of court. She was demanding 2 million naira before the accounts would be opened.
“Of note is the fact that no single Kobo from the 11 million naira Umudiana family Achalla land entered my hand. It was all Uju’s affair because then I was terribly sick, and she removed me from being a signatory to both the bank account and the land documents.
“This was the same land Uju claimed to have registered and obtained official beacons from state government; but when I reached there, it was ordinary beacons.
“All Uju Ezeobi cares for was only money for her selfish interest. For every plot both UBWA members and non-members purchased, Uju would prepare documentations for them as a ‘lawyer’, charging 30,000 naira per plot without any waiver no matter the number of plots you are buying.
“I was so surprised that when the police asked her whether she was a lawyer, she said she was not, claiming that we were the one calling her Barrister. Could you believe that she was addressed as a Barrister even on the appointment letter l gave to her as our legal adviser yet for over the years; but she never for once said she was not a Barrister. Remember she came to us in 2021 introducing herself as a legal practitioner, requesting to partner with UBWA as a member, if given the opportunity.
“At one occasion, the police asked Uju Ezeobi why she had decided to disregard the invitation or deliver account to me as the UBWA Founder, she said that I was not the Founder of UBWA, further claiming that UBWA has no Founder.
“Even at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, where we went for the same matter handled by a CP in the Administration Department, she repeated the same statement. She insisted that one of her loyalists who she invited as witness for her at police force headquarters should be allowed to speak. In the course of her speech, the police asked who was the UBWA Founder and her loyalist replied that I was the Founder to her disappointment.
“Uju never had time to go to the Umudiana family Achalla land which she later claimed to be her personal property. All she was after was the funds coming into the Sonia Global Bank account. I have been the person allotting the land to those who bought the new land, including our members who paid for the first land that had problem, new members who are paying for the first time and those people Uju Ezeobi brought, until everyone got the land paid for. This was only possible because the Umudiana Family, Achalla, original land owners know me as the Founder of UBWA who purchased the land through Mr. Okechukwu Okoye.
“All these while, I had been calling her to come let us settle the matter. I needed to know how what I gave her to handle had fared. Several police handling the case had advised her to come and settle with me, but she refused to come.
“Instead, she went ahead acquiring personal property on her name. She bought a house at Asaba and two vehicles, yet without coming to account for the money she had been moving from the Sonia Global account which was meant for the UBWA/Umudiana family Achalla land acquisition.”
Regarding the reports of alleged death of Uju in police detention, Duru revealed that she (Uju Ezeobi) was released on bail to her husband.
“On the issue of dying under police custody, I am not the police to debunk that; but I know that both of us were at Zone 13 Ukpo when she was released on bail to her husband. In fact, they left before me. So, this the true version of the story concerning that transpired between myself and Uju Ezeobi,” she added.
Ambassador Duru decried Ezeobi’s malicious tactics and greed, pointing out that all transactions were done without her consent during her health crisis. She emphasized that no part of the N11 million payment for the Umudiana family Achalla land ever reached her hands, as Ezeobi and Mrs. Ekunie had full control over the funds and documentation.
Expressing her determination to clear her name and restore UBWA’s reputation, Duru reiterated that she would not be intimidated or silenced by the defamatory campaign orchestrated by Ezeobi and her cohorts. She reaffirmed UBWA’s commitment to its foundational goals, insisting that truth and justice would prevail.
In an impassioned conclusion, Duru called on the public to disregard the baseless accusations and publications against her and UBWA, emphasizing that the allegations were fabricated by those threatened by her progress and the organization’s impact. She urged law enforcement agencies to expedite their investigations and bring the real perpetrators to justice.
“I have no intention to engage in mudslinging with those who are determined to malign my character. I stand firmly on the side of truth, and I am confident that justice will prevail. My focus remains on uplifting the lives of widows and underprivileged women through UBWA,” she concluded.
Reaffirming her unalloyed resolve to expose the truth and reclaim UBWA’s lost funds, Ambassador Duru said she remains undeterred by the attempts to undermine her reputation, standing strong in her commitment to justice and community service.
While thanking God for her life, the UBWA Founder, who regained her health and didn’t die as a result of the diabolical juju that late Mrs Uju Ezeobi and her cohorts kept on her seat, citizens are urged to be prayerful intentionally, so as to avoid unfriendly friends and disloyal employees.
Reacting to the development when contacted, the Zonal Public Relations for Zone 13 Ukpo, SP Josephine Ihunwo, explained that the AIG made sure that Uju was granted bail. She further explained that it was later that they heard about Uju’s death, emphasizing that she did not die in the police custody, as alleged in the trending reports.
