By Chuks Eke
Aggrieved indigenes of Ogbe-Ozoma community of Okpanam, in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, have formally forwarded a strongly worded petition to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP and the Honourable Minister of Defence over what they termed as a violent, bloody, and state-aided invasion of their centuries-old ancestral land by one Chief Chinedu Okeke, popularly known as “Ekwe-Ogidi.”
The Delta state police command has however in a swift reaction, clarified that the police cannot interfer in a land matter without a valid court order.
According to the petition, signed on their behalf by their Solicitor, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Esq., KSC, and addressed to the heads of the nation’s security architecture, the said invasion which they alleged was carried out on December 11, 2025, was not only brazenly unlawful, but was executed and shielded by a truckload of more than 40 heavily armed policemen and soldiers, acting in a manner the community describes as ‘a chilling orchestration of impunity’.
The Community recounts that the same date of the invasion was the very day their ongoing land dispute suit—Suit No. AKW/118/2025, came up for hearing before the High Court of Akwukwu-Igbo, where the presiding Judge expressly admonished all parties to maintain the peace and respect the authority of the court.
They alleged that in flagrant defiance of this judicial caution, Chief Okeke allegedly mobilized a heavily armed contingent of policemen and soldiers to launch a coordinated assault on the disputed land, resulting in the wanton destruction of structures valued at over N1 billion.
According to the petitioners, a Video evidence attached to the petition reportedly captured uniformed officers brandishing weapons, issuing tactical commands, and providing security cover for the invaders as properties were demolished.
The community described the incident as a reckless violation of IGP’s earlier directives against police involvement in land matters, a gross abuse of state security apparatus for private, unlawful ends, a contemptuous affront to judicial authority; and a dangerous precedent capable of provoking avoidable communal unrest.
They further expressed shock that such a massive deployment of armed personnel could be mobilised for the private venture of one individual, especially at a time President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed the withdrawal of police operatives from VIPs across the nation.
The petitioners therefore called for an immediate, full-scale investigation to identify the officers involved, the authority under which they operated, and their role in the destruction of landed property and to institute disciplinary and criminal sanctions against all security operatives found complicit.
The petitioners also call for immediate restoration of law and order within their Ogbe-Ozoma ancestral land and protection for the community, who have restrained themselves from reprisals in order to prevent a breach of peace.
The Ogbe-Ozoma community emphasised that they remain committed to peace, civility, and the due process of law, but cannot stand helpless in the face of what they called ‘weaponised impunity carried out under the shield of state uniforms’.
They furtger called on the IGP, the Defence Minister and all relevant authorities to act swiftly—not only to safeguard lives and property, but to uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s justice system and restore public confidence in the nation’s security institutions.
All efforts to get in touch with the accused person, Chief Chinedu Okeke (aka Ekwe Ogidi) proved abortive as his phone was switched off but the Delta state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Bright Edafe told newsmen on phone that he was not yet aware of the incident, adding that the police cannot interfer in a land matter without a valid court order.
According to Edafe, “before the police can delve into a land matter, there must be a valid court order to warrant such an interference”.
