CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION - University Of Nigeria … OBIAMAKA ANGELA-CHAPT… · CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ... Company Chartered and Limited in 1891, they called that land, Otu ndi

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Aguleri is a community in Anambra-East Local Government Area of Anambra State. It is

located on both sides of the Anambra (Omabala) River. On the East, Aguleri is bounded by

Umueje, Ifite-Ogwari, Igbakwu and Anaku all in Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra

State, by Nando in Anambra-East Local Government Area and Nteje in Oyi Local Government

Area of Anambra State. On the West, it is bounded by the Ezichi River (also known as Oda River)

which separates Aguleri from Anam settlement.1 On the North, Aguleri is bounded by Ogurugu

and Igga respectively in Enugu State. On the North-West, it is bounded by Echonwa and Obale

in Kogi State. On the South, it is bounded by Umuleri in Anambra –East Local Government Area

of Anambra State.2

Umuleri is located at the bank of Anambra River. It is bounded on the East by Nteje in

Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State. On the West, Umuleri is bounded by the

Anambra River. It is bounded by Aguleri on the North and Nsugbe on the South.3 Depending on

where the visitor is coming from, Aguleri and Umuleri are fairly easy to locate. A visitor coming

from Western part of the country will stop at Upper Iweka, Onitsha and pick a bike from there

to the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity. Buses going to Otuocha are stationed in front of the

1 A Memorandum Submitted to The National Boundary Commission Abuja By Aguleri Community in Respect of The

Aguleri/Umuleri Boundary Dispute, 4th

November, 1999, 1. 2 A Memorandum Submitted to The National Boundary Commission Abuja By Aguleri Community in Respect of The

Aguleri/Umuleri Boundary Dispute, 4th

November, 1999, 1. 3 Memorandum Submitted by Umuleri Community to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry,

1995 , 1.

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Basilica and it is a thirty minutes drive from there to Otuocha. Although both communities

occupy Otuocha, you will get to Umuleri and Aguleri before Otuocha. A visitor from Awka or

Enugu, on the other hand, will stop at Awkuzu Junction and board a bus from that Junction to

Otuocha. It is about twenty minutes drive from there to Otuocha.

Aguleri-Umuleri communal conflicts are one of the numerous cases of conflicts which

have spread across the millennia. The conflicts lend credence to Igwe’s analysis of conflict as a

universal and permanent attribute of nature, life and society.4 In Aguleri and Umuleri, the

drums of war have beaten across generations even more so than those of peace initiatives and

peace building. At the heart of Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts is Otuocha land. Otu means beach or

waterside in the dialect of the riverine communities in the Anambra river basin.5 When Aguleri

community leased a portion of land on the beach of Anambra (Omabala) River to Royal Niger

Company Chartered and Limited in 1891, they called that land, Otu ndi Ocha meaning beach

occupied by the White Men.6 Given their penchant for shortening names, Otu ndi Ocha soon

became Otuocha.7 In 1898, Umuleri sold the first portion of Otuocha land to the Royal Niger

Company, Chartered and Limited.8 However, it must be mentioned that both the lease of land

by Aguleri and the sale of land by the Umuleri to the Royal Niger Company was a typical

colonial government affair. They saw a land perfect for the location of their company, made

inquires about the owners and got it on their own terms.

4 O. Igwe, Politics and Globe Dictionary (Enugu: Jamoe Publishers, 2002), 84.

5 R. A. Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case (Enugu: Star Printing and Publishing Company Limited,

1981), 9. 6 Michael Aniekwensi, 65 years, Herbalist, interviewed at Aguleri, 15

th September, 2012.

7 Michael Aniekwensi, oral Interview cited.

8 Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case . . . , 1.

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The Otuocha land in dispute lies along the left bank of the Anambra River (called

Omabala by the natives of the area) and extends up-stream from the tributary of the Anambra

River called the Akor stream for over two thousand yards to an anthill called, Nkpunwofia, a

short distance beyond another tributary, the Emu. Otuocha is bordered beyond the Akor by

land of Nneyi Umuleri and beyond the Emu and Nkpunwofia by land belonging to the people of

Eziagulu Aguleri.9 Otuocha, as litigated by Aguleri and Umuleri is bounded by Aguleri on the

North, Umuleri on the South, Anambra River on the West and Aguleri and Umuleri on the East.

The people of Umuoba-Anam occupy the central part of Otuocha.10

With Royal Niger Company came development and the consequent increase in the

monetary value of land. As an informant succinctly put it, land in both communities had little or

no value prior to 1910. People were given land to farm on and settle with little or no

payment.11

For instance, most of the lands in Christian village, Aguleri were owned by the

Aruevoru family who provided most of the families and even the Catholic Church who settled in

that village with lands to settle or farm on. Amongst these families were the Etie family from

Isiokwe.12

With the arrival of the Europeans and the subsequent development that came with

them, land acquired monetary value. This was the reason why the Umuoba-Anam who settled

in Otuocha in 1910 paid for their land.13

This work will examine the relationship between

Aguleri and Umuleri. It will also trace the origin of the conflict and the changes in the

magnitude and dimension of the conflict.

9 Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case. . . , Vii.

10 Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, 62 years, Legal Practitioner, interviewed at Onitsha, 28

th October, 2012.

11 Iveanyi Udevi Aruevoru, oral interview cited.

12 Iveanyi Udevi Aruevoru, oral interview cited severally.

13 A Memorandum Submitted by Umuoba-Anam Community to the National Boundary Commission, Abuja in

Respect of the Aguleri-Umuleri-Umuoba-Anam Crisis. 16th

November, 1999, 1.

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Relations between Aguleri and Umuleri are relatively old. As their names imply, both

communities on the Anambra River basin trace their ancestry to the legendary figure, Eri.14

While Agulu Eri is the first son of Eri, Ulueri, founder of Umuleri is the grandson of Eri through

his only daughter, Adamgbo, also called Iguedo for her exceptional beauty.15

According to oral

tradition, Ulueri was the product of an affair between Adamgbo and Okebo of Arochukwu who

had come to Aguleri for trading purposes.16

Adamgbo, who was residing with Agulu Eri at the

time, bore her child and when she got married, the child remained with her brother, Agulu Eri.17

When Ulueri, attained manhood, Agulu Eri settled him and his children at the site of the

present Ana Umuleri in Ikenga Umuleri with Aguleri, Nteje and Nsugbe surrounding his

settlement.18

The reason for their settlement within the triangle formed by Aguleri, Nteje and

Nsugbe was for protection from invaders. Aguleri and Nsugbe blocked their access to the river

to protect them from Aboh people of Delta State who usually attacked Aguleri and Nsugbe

from the river.19

Nteje and Aguleri also blocked Umuleri from attacks that came upland. This is

not surprising because traditional Igbo land relied on kith and kin for protection and

brotherhood, especially in cases of threats of foreign invasion. Substantiating this claim of the

Aguleri is the fact that while Nteje, Aguleri and Nsugbe fought Edda invaders at various times,

Umuleri, because of their location at the centre of the triangle formed by Aguleri, Nsugbe and

Nteje never experienced Edda invasion.20

14

Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case . . . ,16. 15

Vincent Nwasi, 78 years, Retired Business man, interviewed at Umuleri, 23rd

October, 2012. 16

Joseph Egbunike Onwualor, 60 years, Civil Servant, interviewed at Onitsha, 24th

October, 2012. 17

Stephen Ikwunne Oveli, 83 years, Business man, interviewed at Aguleri, 31st

October, 2012. 18

Stephen Ikwunne Oveli, oral interview cited. 19

Michael Ilobiogua, 74 years, retired Civil Servant, interviewed at Nsugbe, 10th

September, 2012. 20

Michael Ilobiogua, oral interview cited.

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However, the stance purportedly taken by Agulu Eri with regards to his nephew, Ulueri

is unusual for an Igbo man of the pre-colonial era. Adamgbo by giving birth to an illegitimate

child committed alu meaning abomination and should have been punished for desecrating the

earth goddess, ana. Although her son, Ulueri, in keeping with tradition, becomes a member of

his mother’s patrilineage, it is only in rare cases that the illegitimate child of that era enjoys

such attention from his mother’s relatives. But if indeed, they were assimilated and loved as

Aguleri people claimed, researchers will have to contend with issues bordering on the pseudo-

love between the two communities. In as much as Aguleri claims to love and cherish its sister

community, it has lived false to its claims as conflicts always arise when the Umuleri attempt to

expand their land mass. Again, the Aguleri by their admission blocked Umuleri’s access from

the river for security reasons. Aguleri has lands across the river and has expanded there.

Umuleri is geographically constrained and their attempt to expand to Otuocha is not

unreasonable. By expanding to Otuocha, they would have land to accommodate their teeming

population as well as access to the river. Yet, the Aguleri have resisted their attempts at

expansion and have clashed time and again with Umuleri over Otuocha land. This action of the

Aguleri raises a lot of questions: Are the Aguleri still determined to secure Umuleri from attacks

across the river? If the security and safety of the Umuleri are a priority for Aguleri, why then

have they engaged them in conflict time and again? Are there other issues they do not want the

public to know about that make it impossible for them to give up Otuocha land?

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The Otuocha land case is inseparable from the twentieth century history of Aguleri and

Umuleri.21

The first conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri over Otuocha broke out in 1910. The

conflict erupted when Egbeagu kindred in Eziagulu Aguleri discovered that Umunchezi kindred

in Ikenga Umuleri had sold part of that land to Umuoba-Anam without their consent.22

In R.A.

Chinwuba’s Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case, the conflict was dated 192023

but oral

account of informants as well as the Memorandum Submitted by the Umuoba-Anam

Community to the National Boundary Commission, Abuja placed this conflict in 1910.24

In 1933, the first litigation between Aguleri and Umuleri over Otuocha land was

instituted.25

The case was between Egbeagu kindred in Aguleri and the Umunchezi kindred in

Umuleri and remained so until 1950, when the financial cost of litigation became unbearable

for both the Umunchezi kindred in Ikenga Umuleri and the Egbeagu kindred in Eziagulu

Aguleri.26

Both kindred then sought moral and financial support of their respective villages.27

When the financial cost of litigation became unbearable for the villages, they appealed to their

respective towns and swore an oath to the people of their town accepting that if the case was

won by the town, the land would no longer be village property but that of the entire town.28

Consequently, the land dispute between Egbeagu kindred of Eziagulu Aguleri and Umunchezi

kindred of Ikenga Umuleri turned out to be Aguleri and Umuleri land case. It was at this point

that strife, court cases, propaganda and embellishment of history as well as open conflicts

21

Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case . . . , xii. 22

Michael Aniekwensi, oral interview cited severally. 23

Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case . . ., 1. 24

A Memorandum Submitted by Umuoba-Anam Community to the National Boundary Commission, Abuja in

Respect of the Aguleri-Umuleri-Umuoba-Anam Crisis. 16th

November, 1999, 1. 25

Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case . . . , 1. 26



Michael Aniekwensi, oral interview cited severally.

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started between the two communities.29

With the passage of time, the dimension of the

conflicts altered. Arson became an important instrument of the conflict and sophisticated

weapons and even mercenaries came into use in the conflicts. Infrastructural facilities that

constituted life wires of both communities became key targets in the conflicts. This destructive

streak became an impediment to the development of both communities and Otuocha as a

cosmopolitan area.

It is pertinent to mention at this point that any discourse on the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict

would be incomplete without reference to two groups of “patriotic citizens” from both

communities. The first group enriched themselves from the conflicts while operating under the

guise of “labouring for the good of the community.” These persons controlled the funds used in

the execution of the conflicts. They bought the weapons and foodstuffs needed for the warfare

and for feeding the troops. They also sourced for funds needed for the management of the

conflicts. However, accountability is a strange term to these people as they regard every

demand for accountability as a lack of appreciation for their efforts. Thus, they are

euphemistically referred to in Aguleri and Umuleri as ndi na atalu obodo avuvu meaning those

who labour for the good of the community.30

The second groups of “patriotic citizens” are the

money bags. This group of people in their “magnanimity” provide the funds, resources and

even incentives needed for the execution of conflicts. These groups of “patriotic citizens” for

their own selfish reasons fan the flame of conflict. They see every move for settlement of the

29

C. J. Nwanegbo, Internal Conflict and African Development (An Overview of the Nigerian Situation) (Awka: Pond

Academic Publishers, 2005), 42. 30

Vincent Aniegboke, 66 years, Farmer, interviewed at Umuleri, 15th

September, 2012.

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conflict as a sign of weakness and often insist on the prosecution of the conflicts to its logical

conclusion.

The conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri are peculiar in character. It is observed that

after the conflict of 1933, Aguleri and Umuleri have experienced the resurgence of conflicts

every thirty one years. The next conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri erupted in 1964 and

thirty one years later, the conflict of 1995 erupted. 31

The conflict of 1999 was the only

exception to the thirty one year rule. It came only four years after the conflict of 1995. For the

first time, the 1999 conflict brought Umuoba-Anam who were observers in previous conflicts

between the Aguleri and the Umuleri into the main theatre of war.32

The outbreak of conflict

every thirty one years is not only unusual but worrisome. One cannot help but wonder what

possible connation that number, thirty one might have to people of both communities.

Although it is not a round number, it could be of some significance to the warring communities.

Theoretical Framework

This study adopted the theory of environmental scarcity as expounded by Thomas

Homer-Dixon. According to him, environmental scarcity refers to scarcity of renewable

resources. For Homer-Dixon, scarcities of agricultural lands, forests, water and fish are

environmental problems that contribute most to conflict.33

He opined that environmental

effects of human activity are a function of two factors, the vulnerability of the eco-system and

31

C. J. Nwanegbo, “Inter-Communal Conflict in South-Eastern Nigeria: A Study of Aguleri-Umuleri Conflicts”

Ikejiani-Clark, Miriam (ED.) Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria, (Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited,

2009), 504. 32

Nwanegbo, “Inter-Communal Conflicts in South-Eastern Nigeria . . . ,” 504. 33

T. Homer-Dixon, “Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflicts: Evidence from Cases,” International Security, 19

No. 1, (1994): 7.

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the product of the total population and that population’s physical activity per capita in the

region.34

Homer-Dixon further stated that scarcity arises in three ways and they include

demand-induced scarcity, supply-induced scarcity and structural scarcity. Demand-induced

scarcity is caused by population growth in a region. Supply-induced scarcity arises from

degradation of resources while structural scarcity occurs because of unequal social distribution

of these resources. These types of scarcity, he also stated are not mutually exclusive. Often,

they occur simultaneously and interact with one another.35

Environmental scarcity produces

four social effects and they are decreased agricultural potential, regional economic decline,

population displacement and disruption of legitimized and authoritative institutions and social

relations.36

These social factors, according to Homer-Dixon, either singly or in combination can

produce or exacerbate conflict between groups.37

In relating this theory to the conflicts between the two sister communities of Aguleri

and Umuleri, land as a scarce resource comes to the fore. In Umuleri, the scarcity is both

structural and demand-induced. As has earlier been mentioned, oral tradition of Aguleri,

Nsugbe, Nteje and Igbariam reiterates the fact that Ulueri, founder of Umuleri and nephew of

Aguleri, was settled in Ikenga Umuleri (in the midst of Aguleri, Nsugbe and Nteje) by Aguleri so

that he would be protected from Ada (Edda) invaders by Aguleri, Nsugbe and Nteje. However,

in recent times, the expansion of Umuleri has cut off Nsugbe’s boundary with Aguleri.38

By the

nature of her initial settlement, Umuleri was landlocked. This geographical or structural

34

T. Homer-Dixon, “On the Threshold: Environmental Changes as Causes of Acute Conflict,” International Security

16 No. 2, (1991): 85. 35

Homer-Dixon, “Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflicts . . . ,” 8-11. 36

Homer-Dixon, “ Environmental Changes as Causes of Acute Conflict . . . ,” 91. 37

Homer-Dixon, “Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflicts . . . ,” 6. 38


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constraint became an impediment to her geographical expansion as her population increased.

Her struggle for expansion into Otuocha area is targeted not only at increasing her land mass to

support her growing population but also at getting access to the river which their initial location

denied her. Her attempts at expansion brought Umuleri in conflict with Aguleri.

In the case of Aguleri community, her struggle for land is partly induced and partly

borne out of a need to secure her lands. Aguleri has a larger population and land mass in

comparison to Umuleri. Overtime, this large population has increased and the demand for land

has also increased. As a result, Aguleri expanded, settled across the Anambra River and has

boundaries with Echonwa and Obale in the present Kogi State and Igga and Ogurugu in the

present Enugu State. Her struggle over Otuocha land is borne out of the desire to secure her

lands for posterity. In other words, while the Umuleri expansion into Otuocha was to increase

her land mass and gain access to the River, Aguleri resistance of her expansion to Otuocha was

aimed at securing what belongs to them.

Statement of the Problem

Every society at one time or the other engages in one form of conflict or another.39

These conflicts may lead to political, social and economic changes. The management of the

conflicts and the extent to which the conflicts in a given society translates into violence poses

major challenges to human society.40

This is because conflicts can be constructive or

39

J. P. Ochogwu “Youth and Conflict in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities for Peace Building” Africa Peace and

Conflict Journal 3 No. 1 June, (2010): 35-48. 40

Ochogwu, “Youth and Conflict in Nigeria . . . ,” 37.

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destructive. Conflict can bring about development but when it is not properly managed, it

promotes anarchy and retards development.

As has earlier been mentioned, Aguleri and Umuleri conflicts, with the exception of the

conflict of 1999, usually resurge after a period of thirty one years. Although conflicts between

both communities have garnered a lot of media and academic attention over the years, most

research works on conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri focuses on conflict resolution. While

some of the academic works discuss the role of government in management and resolution of

the conflicts, few others discuss the traditional method of conflict management usually

adopted by both communities. Yet, in spite of all this scholarly attention, very little has been

written on the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1964 and none had taken cognizance of the fact that

since the conflict of 1964, the magnitude and dimension of the conflicts changed. Each conflict

between Aguleri and Umuleri since 1964 was more violent and destructive than the last. Very

little has also been written on the roles played by the elites and the political class of both

communities in the conflicts. This work is therefore an attempt to fill the gap existing in

literature by discussing the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1964 while stressing the changes in the

magnitude and dimension of the conflicts from 1964-1999. This research will also discuss the

role of the elites and political class in the conflicts. Indeed, no historical account of the conflict

has been undertaken thus far and this research would also attempt to fill the void.

Purpose of the Study

This study aims at giving a historical account of the conflicts between Aguleri and

Umuleri from 1964 to 1999 for record purposes. This study emphasizes the fact that the

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conflicts between the Aguleri and the Umuleri are rooted in their sentimental attachment to

land. It also demonstrates the extent the Aguleri and the Umuleri are willing to go to protect

what they claim to be theirs. This study further enlightens us on the consequences of

communal conflicts on neighbouring communities.

Significance of the Study

This work will serve as a resource material for scholars researching on conflict between

Aguleri and Umuleri. It is also the aim of this study to interpret conflict from a historic point of

view and lay particular emphasis on the social impact of conflict not just on the two

communities but also on neighbouring communities. It will also portray the changes in the

dimension of the conflicts over the years as a result of the proliferation of weapons of

destruction. In a nutshell, the study will expose the enmity between both communities which

gave rise to the magnitude of violence that accompanied the land disputes between Aguleri and

Umuleri from 1964 to 1999. This study will be useful to policy makers and analysts, government

administrators, peace builders and makers and even peace loving citizens of Aguleri and

Umuleri. However, if this study succeeds in igniting peace and brotherliness that defies all odds

between the Aguleri and the Umuleri, it would have achieved a most vital significance.

Scope of the Study

This study is focused on conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri from 1964- 1999. This

time frame was so chosen because 1964 was a landmark in the history of both communities. It

highlighted the changes not only in the weaponry used by the parties but also in the dimension

and magnitude of the conflicts. The spears, clubs and machetes used in the conflict of 1933

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were abandoned for dane guns and double barrelled guns in 1964. With this change in

weaponry which started in 1964, both communities started recording huge losses in human

lives. The study terminated in 1999 because it was the year both communities had their last

conflict.

Literature Review

Aguleri-Umuleri communal conflicts have garnered a lot of attention over the years.

Thus, it is hardly surprising that historians, political scientists, sociologists, human rights

activists, journalists, free lance writers have written copiously on the subject. While most of the

literature available on the subject will be reviewed here, it is pertinent to add that the first nine

literature reviewed here dealt decisively on the Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts while the last three

literature dealt on certain aspects which are relevant to the discourse on the conflicts between

the two communities.

C. J. Nwanegbo’s “Inter-Communal Conflicts in South-Eastern Nigeria: A Study of

Aguleri-Umuleri Conflicts” in Miriam Ikejiani-Clark’s (ED.) Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution:

A Reader41

is an outstanding piece on the study of Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts. The work traces

the origin of the conflicts to the arrival of Europeans which led to the commoditization of land

in the two communities. The work gives a brief rundown of the court cases. It also discusses the

consequences of Aguleri-Umuleri conflict on both communities, on Otuocha and on

neighbouring Communities. In this informative piece, Nwanegbo re-appraises the Government

White Paper Report on Aguleri-Umuleri Conflicts and the Report of The National Boundary

41

Nwanegbo, “Inter-Communal Conflict In South-Eastern Nigeria . . . ,” 500.

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Commission of 1999. He discusses previous attempts at managing the conflict between the two

communities and concluded by making recommendations on how to manage the conflicts

between the two communities. However, Nwanegbo only made passing reference to the

conflicts of 1933 and 1964. It must also be noted, that contrary to Nwanegbo’s opinion that in

spite of the incessant conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri, neither had denied the other the

Eri origin, Umuleri in suit no. 0/48/50 stated that Aguleri people were migrants from Igala and

had no relationship whatsoever with Eri.42

This study will not only discuss Aguleri-Umuleri

communal conflicts from 1964-1999, it will also rely on oral tradition of both communities to

establish the relationship between Aguleri and Umuleri to the legendary figure, Eri.

R. A. Chinwuba’s Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case43

is particularly helpful to this

research. This work deals primarily with the litigations between Aguleri and Umuleri up to 1981.

Statement of claims, statements of defence and judgment on each land case between the two

communities were well documented. The Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1964 was discussed

briefly. The book also contains a record of Eastern Nigerian Gazette on the abolition of fire arms

following the conflict of 1964 between Aguleri and Umuleri. It also documents the change of

name from Otuocha to Otuocha Aguleri under Chief J.U. Nwodo, Minister for Local

Government. This book written from Aguleri standpoint also discusses the abolition of ivory

anklets by Aguleri Youths Association. The emphasis of this work is very much on the court

cases and judicial pronouncements on the Otuocha land case until 1981. While the focus of the

42

Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case . . . ,, 16. 43

Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case . . . .

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present study is not on judicial pronouncements, it will fill in the gap on the litigations and

conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri from 1981-1999.

K. Fagbemi and O. Nwankwo’s “The Aguleri-Umuleri Violence”44

is also helpful for this

study. The work begins with a rundown of the court cases and judicial pronouncements on

Otuocha land case. For Fagbemi and Nwankwo, the plan of Aguleri to attack Umuleri which was

thwarted by the deployment of mobile police to Otuocha in 1994 was actualized in 1995.

Aguleri community succeeded in putting their plan in motion with the redeployment of the

policemen. They observed that government refusal to implement the government white paper

report on the conflict of 1995 brought the reprisal attack by Umuleri on Aguleri in 1999. They

stated that Umuoba-Anam joined in the conflict of 1999 because Umuleri killed nine of their

children. Incidence of civil and political rights violation, gender violence, violation of socio-

economic and cultural rights of adult and children were noted. However, Fagbemi and

Nwankwo were not objective. They observed for instance, that Aguleri destroyed the statue of

the Blessed Virgin Mary at the site of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, Umuleri but they

failed to mention that the Umuleri pulled down Christ Apostolic Church, Aguleri and erected

Our Lady of Victory, Umuleri in its stead. Testimony of Umuleri was recorded while none was

recorded on the part of Aguleri and this did not make for a balanced account. The present study

will rely on available literature on Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts and oral interview of individuals

from both communities for a balanced account of the conflicts.

44

K. Fagbemi and O. Nwankwo, “The Aguleri-Umuleri Violence” in Hopes Betrayed? A Report on Impunity and State

Sponsored Violence in Nigeria by World Organization against Torture, Geneva and Centre for Law Enforcement and

Education, Lagos (2002): 51-67.

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Memorandum submitted by Aguleri Community to the Aguleri and Umuleri

Disturbances Commission of Inquiry in 1995 is relevant to this research. Attached to the Memo

is the agreement the Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited signed with head chiefs and

chiefs of Umunchezi. In this document, the remote cause of the conflict of 1995 was traced to

the battle of both communities for ownership of Otuocha and the failure of the Umuleri to

interpret correctly the Supreme Court Judgment of 1984. The Memo stated that the immediate

cause of the conflict of 1995 was the attempt by Chief Dan Ekwevi, an Umuleri man to erect a

filling station on the cassava farmlands belonging to the people of Eziagulu Aguleri. The role of

individuals, the police and associations in Aguleri and Umuleri in igniting and accelerating the

conflict of 1995 was discussed. The source of weapons used by Umuleri in their attack on

Aguleri was traced to Chief Dan Ekwevi and Chief John Nebolisa. The Memo was concluded with

recommendations for peace. The work was written from Aguleri view point and so cannot be

considered objective. This study will balance the views of Aguleri and Umuleri as expressed in

their respective memos. This will make for a more objective account of the conflict.

Memorandum submitted by Umuleri Community to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances

Commission of Inquiry in 1995 cited the location of Umuleri and mentioned its component

parts. Day to day account of the conflict and infrastructure belonging to Umuleri which Aguleri

community destroyed were discussed. The Memo stated that Otuocha land belonged to

Umuleri community and that Umuoba-Anam community was settled in their present location

by Umuleri. The Memo also included a list of one hundred and forty-six persons from Aguleri

who either sponsored or planned the invasion on Umuleri. The extent of involvement of Chief

Mike Edozie, an Aguleri man and the Chairman of Anambra Local Government at that time was

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also discussed. The failure of the police to calm the storm brewing between the two

communities was attributed to a conspiracy between the Police and Aguleri community to

exterminate Umuleri. The Memo also contained a list of forty one persons from Umuleri who

died in the conflict of 1995. The Memo concluded with recommendations for peace. The

conflict was discussed from Umuleri view point. For objectivity, this present study will evaluate

the accounts of the conflicts between both communities as discussed in their memos.

Raphael Ekeh’s “Aguleri-Umuleri Conflict: The theatre of Fratricidal War”45

is a

significant piece for the subject of study. Ekeh opined that struggle for Otuocha land was at the

root of the conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri. He grouped conflicts between Aguleri and

Umuleri into two-colonial and post-colonial Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts; and observed that

despite the economic importance of land to Aguleri and Umuleri people in the pre-colonial era,

no conflict erupted between both communities in pre-colonial era. The story changed with the

arrival of colonial masters. According to Ekeh, Capt. O’Connor, the District Officer of the area in

the 1930s partly engineered the problem between the two communities by encouraging

Umuleri to lay claims to the whole of Otuocha land.”46

Ekeh went on to say that in thePost-

colonial era, conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri assumed alarming proportions. He noted

that though government had taken steps to prevent further conflict eruption between the two

communities, there was need for government to conduct an in-depth and comprehensive

conflict transformation strategy by a third party. Although this work did not discuss the conflict

45

R. C. Ekeh , “Aguleri-Umuleri Conflict: the theatre of Fratricidal War,” Monique Mekenkamp, Paul van Tongeren

and Hans van de Veen (EDS.) Searching for Peace in Africa, An Overview of Conflict Prevention and Management

Activities, (Utrecht: European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation, 1999), 359. 46

Ekeh, “Aguleri-Umuleri Conflicts: The Theatre of Fratricidal Wars . . . ,” 360.

P a g e | 18

of 1964, it was nonetheless helpful to this research. This present study will strive to provide in-

depth information on the conflict of 1964 and other conflicts between the two communities.

Memorandum submitted by the People of Aguleri to the Honourable Members of the

House of Representatives Committee in Respect of the Aguleri, Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam

Conflict Dated 6th

October, 1999 is also helpful to the research. The Memo cited the location of

Aguleri and mentioned its component parts. The history of Aguleri and Umuleri and the golden

age of both communities were discussed. The document stated that the initial boundary of

Aguleri was with Nsugbe and the boundary was formed by four streams, Owakali stream,

Odukeze stream, Ngene Okwuazu stream and Akor stream. It also noted that the recognized

boundary of Aguleri and Umuleri was along a number of streams starting from Owakali stream

moving upstream to Ngene-Ubi stream and Osisike stream. The Memo gave a rundown of

judicial pronouncements on the Otuocha land case up to 1984. The remote causes of the

conflict of 1999 were discussed. Aguleri community also stated their dissatisfaction with the

findings and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry set up in 1995 to examine the

causes of the conflict between her and Umuleri and make recommendations. Aguleri

community observed that the immediate cause of the conflict of 1999 was the three pronged

attack launched on Aguleri by Umuleri. Umuoba-Anam involvement in the conflict was also

discussed. The memo concluded by making recommendations for peace. This work told the

story of the conflict mainly from the Aguleri angle. For a balanced account of the conflict, this

study will access the views expressed by both communities in their respective memos.

P a g e | 19

Memorandum submitted to The House of Representatives Committee on Aguleri,

Umuleri-Umuoba-Anam Conflict of 1999 by Umuleri Community on 2nd

October, 1999 began

with a brief history of Aguleri and Umuleri. The Memo explained the meaning of Otuocha.

Several litigations between both communities which ended with the Supreme Court judgment

of 1984 were mentioned. Blame for the conflict of 1999 was laid at the doorstep of Aguleri.

Non-implementation of the government white paper on the conflict between Aguleri and

Umuleri in 1995 was stated as the remote cause of the conflict. The immediate cause of the

conflict of 1999 was attributed to the pulling down of Umuleri bill boards along Otuocha market

road by Aguleri youths and the vow of Aguleri people to bury their son and former Local

Government Chairman, Chief Mike Edozie with heads of Umuleri people. The involvement of

Umuoba-Anam was attributed to the refusal of Umuleri people to sell more lands to the people

of Umuoba-Anam. The memo ended by making recommendations for peace and with pleas for

reconstruction and provision of relief materials. This work discussed the conflict from Umuleri

point of view. This work will also review the Aguleri account of the conflict before evaluation.

C.N. Ifediora in his book, No More War Boundary Covenant Volume 1 blames the

colonialists for their role in the protracted dispute between Aguleri and Umuleri. This book

written from the Umuleri angle blames Aguleri for the bloodbath of 1964 and the court case of

1979. The author attributes the conflict of 1995 and 1999 to the failure to interpret correctly

the Supreme Court Judgment of 1984. He opined that the magnitude of destruction in the three

communities of Aguleri, Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam prompted leaders of thoughts in

Anambra-East to initiate peace moves between the warring communities. A seven man peace

council was sworn in by the Mbadinuju Administration. The council decided on traditional oath

P a g e | 20

covenant, immediate cessation of hostilities, Iko mme and return of the refugees. The oath-

taking ceremonies were conducted and terms of Iko mme listed. Concept of blood covenant in

Anambra River basin was discussed. A number of persons who played roles in the actualization

of the peace accord were lavishly praised. The book concluded with why neither Aguleri nor

Umuleri got exclusive ownership of Otuocha. Instead of devoting attention to the peace

initiatives and oath-taking, the author spent a lot of time singing the praises of all those whom

he felt played a major role in uniting the warring communities of Aguleri and Umuleri.

C. J. Nwanegbo’s Internal Conflict and African Development (An Overview of the Nigerian

Situation)47

investigates the place of Internal Conflicts in Africa’s development. Though the

work took a cursory glance at Somalia, Rwanda and Liberia where power tussle had been a

major source of conflict, Nigeria, was used mainly as case study. This is because Nigeria has

experienced conflicts of various types-religious, political, ethnic, intra-communal and inter-

communal. The work discusses the concepts of development and conflict. It adopts Relative

Deprivation Theory as the most appropriate for explaining internal conflicts in Africa.

Nwanegbo divides inter-group conflicts in Nigeria into political crises, peripheral nationalist

conflicts, under-resource deprivation and civil strife. He examines the political, economic and

social consequences of internal conflicts and concluded by suggesting internal conflict

resolution strategies. Although the focus of this work is on conflict and development in Africa,

this work nonetheless provides useful insight on the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict and its effect on

their development. This present study, however, will give a more detailed account of the

conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri from 1964 to 1999.

47

Nwanegbo, Internal Conflict and African Development . . . , 2005.

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Cyril Obi’s “Resources, Population and Conflicts: Two African Case Studies”48

analyses

the linkage between population, resource insecurity and conflict in Africa. Obi opined that

contest for access to depleted resources poses grave threat to national, regional and global

security. He also stated that increase in population without commiserate increase in resources

leads to resource scarcity which in turn breeds conflict. Obi however noted that while

population is not solely responsible for all resource wars in Africa, environmental factors and

the struggle for resources were hidden but critical elements in the conflicts between the Ogoni

and Shell and the Sudanese civil war both of which were used as case studies. The author also

noted that the state worsens tension and provokes conflict when they deny people their rights

and block out issues of equity. He concluded by making recommendations on how to resolve

conflict in this ecological crisis and struggle over resources. As noticed in the title of the work,

Obi used two African case studies to explain the relations between population and conflict.

While Aguleri and Umuleri conflicts were not used as case study, increase in population is

certainly a factor in the conflicts between the two communities; in this lies the relevance of the

work to this study. This present study will discuss population and other factors contributory to

the conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri.

Joseph Ochogwu’s “Youth and Conflict in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities for

Peace Building”49

discussed the possibility of transforming youths from contributors to conflict

to agents of peace. He adopted the definition of youth provided by National Youth Policy and

Strategic Plan of Action. Ochogwu noted that poor performance of the economy and state

48

C. Obi, Resources, “Population and Conflict: Two African Case Studies” African Development, XXIV No. 3 and 4,

(1999): 47-69. 49

Ochogwu, “Youth and Conflict in Nigeria . . . ,” 35.

P a g e | 22

institutionalized exploitation of unemployed youths were critical variables for youth

participation in conflict. He also observed that youths in Nigeria have been on the receiving end

of several failed structural programmes. He opined that the craving for violence amongst

Nigerian youths was an expression of a sense of hopelessness in the political and economic

situation. In an attempt to understand the nexus between youth, conflict and development, he

included a survey conducted by the International Foundation for Education and Self Help. He

concluded that there was need to redefine the current conceptualization of youth oriented

national and state agencies to meet the needs of Nigerian Youths. Although Aguleri and

Umuleri youths were not used as case studies, Ochogwu’s work depicted the role of youths in

conflicts between the two communities hence its relevance to the study.

It is clear from this review that while most of these literatures dealt with other aspects

of the conflicts between the two communities, they downplayed or neglected a very significant

aspect of the conflict, the changes in the magnitude and dimension of the conflicts since 1964.

The relevance of this work lies in its efforts to fill in the gap existing in literature by focusing on

the changes in the magnitude and dimension of the Aguleri-Umuleri communal conflicts.

Sources and Methods

This study adopted the qualitative method of research. Its use was based on the

understanding that data are not inherently quantitative. This work, therefore, combined

descriptive analysis with qualitative evaluation. This work also relied a lot on content analyses

of interviews, records, oral histories and reports to describe, analyse and explain conflicts

between Aguleri and Umuleri. Thematically, it discussed major themes that shaped the

P a g e | 23

relations between the warring communities, conflicts and its socio-economic implications.

Major events during this period of study were carefully chronicled. This work does not limit

itself to the discipline of History alone; it is interdisciplinary in nature. Tools and data from

other disciplines like geography, law, political science and sociology was employed in the study.

Data for the study was gathered from two sources, namely: primary sources and

secondary sources. Primary sources were derived mainly from oral interview, gazettes,

communiqué and official documents. Interviews were conducted with traditional rulers, elders,

title holders of Aguleri and Umuleri in different locations like Aguleri, Umuleri, Enugu and

Onitsha. Elders and title holders of neighbouring communities of Umuoba-Anam, Nsugbe,

Nando, Igbariam and Nteje were also interviewed. Although the researcher observed that some

of the informants from Aguleri and Umuleri were biased in their accounts of the conflicts; some

others from both communities and even neighbouring communities were reasonably objective

in their accounts of the conflicts. The researcher therefore, was careful to scrutinize the data

and paid more attention to those respondents who could give, to a considerable extent, reliable

information. In the end, information gathered from these oral sources was complemented with

available written records, government gazette, communiqué and memoranda gotten from

National Archives Enugu and private libraries.

The secondary sources are derived mainly from books, journal and newspaper articles

and unpublished projects. The researcher also consulted materials in National, State and

private libraries. Although some of the books and articles, like the oral accounts, tended to

favour one side over the other in their accounts of the conflicts, the researcher strove for

P a g e | 24

objectivity and made some degree of evaluation based on research findings. A list of these

sources, both primary and secondary, is contained in the Sources and Bibliography section of

this work.

The work is divided into five chapters. Chapter one introduces the topic under study.

Chapter two examines Aguleri-Umuleri communal conflicts up to 1963. Chapter three discusses

Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts from 1964-1999. Chapter four examines the impact of the conflicts

between Aguleri and Umuleri on both communities and on neighbouring communities. Chapter

five concludes the work.

P a g e | 25

CHAPTER TWO

THE AGULERI-UMULERI CONFLICTS UP TO 1963

Golden Age of Aguleri and Umuleri

The Aguleri and the Umuleri were living as neighbours long before the coming of the

Europeans. Though the names of both communities have overtime become synonymous with

conflicts, there was indeed a time in the history of both communities when they co-existed

peacefully and friendly relations flourished between them. This was from the time of Agulu Eri,

the founder of Aguleri, up to 1910 when the people of Egbeagu kindred in Eziagulu Aguleri

discovered that some elders of Umunchezi Umuleri had sold part of their land at the present

Otuocha to the people of Umuoba-Anam.50

Prior to 1910, the Egbeagu people of Aguleri and

the Umunchezi people of Umuleri allegedly farmed side by side at Udeabor in the present

Otuocha. It is this Udeabor land located at Otuocha that is the cause of the conflicts between

Aguleri and Umuleri.51

While discussing the friendly relations between the two communities

prior to the coming of the Europeans, the Aguleri people in their Memorandum to the National

Boundary Commission Abuja stated thus:

At that time, the communities respected the rights of each

other and refrained from encroaching on the lands of the

other. By then, many young men and women from the two

communities intermarried without reservation. During

festivals, boys and girls, men and women from the two

communities extended invitations to their age grades in the

50

Memorandum Submitted By The People of Aguleri to the Honourable Members of House of Representative

Committee on Peace and National Reconciliation and Police Affairs in Respect of Aguleri, Umuleri and Umuoba-

Anam Conflicts of April to August 1999, October 6, 1999, 4. 51

Michael Aniekwensi, 65 years, Herbalist, interviewed at Aguleri, 15th

September, 2012.

P a g e | 26

other community. Then, the fraternity between Aguleri and

Umuleri was realistic, genuine, full of merriment and crisis free;

hence it was the” Golden Age” of Aguleri and Umuleri.52

Corroborating the above statement, the Memorandum of Umuoba-Anam submitted on

the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict in 1999 noted that Aguleri and Umuleri are brothers with strong

historical and cultural affinities and the rate of inter-marriages between them makes them

practically blood relations.53

The first bump in the hitherto blissful existence of the two

communities occurred in 1910 when the Egbeagu kindred in Eziagulu Aguleri discovered that

some elders from Umunchezi Umuleri had sold part of Otuocha land to Umuoba-Anam.

Although the problem between Aguleri and Umuoba-Anam was resolved, the bad blood

between Aguleri and Umuleri remained and like a fresh wound that was left untreated, it

festered and caused more damage to the relationship between the two communities. The

result was that twenty three years later, in 1933, conflict erupted between the two

communities.

Umuoba-Anam Settlement in Otuocha

Umuoba-Anam settlement is a pioneer settlement in Otuocha. The migration of the

people of Umuoba-Anam from their original home at Umuoba-Abebu across the Anambra River

to their present settlement at Otuocha was occasioned by seasonal flooding of their homes.54

In 1910, some people from Umuoba-Anam who were fleeing their flood ravaged homes at

Umuoba-Abebu met some elders of Umunchezi Umuleri at Otu Nneyi and asked them for land

52

Memorandum Submitted by People of Aguleri Community to the Honourable Members of the House of

Representatives Committee on Peace and National Reconciliation and Police Affairs in Respect of the Aguleri,

Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam Conflict of 1999, 4. 53

The Aguleri-Umuleri Crisis (April-July 1999) and The Umuoba-Anam Dilemma: A statement of the Umuoba-Anam

Case, 2. 54

Ignatius Udealor, 69 years, Herbalist, interviewed at Umuoba-Anam, 15th

September, 2012.

P a g e | 27

to settle.55

The elders of Umunchezi Umuleri agreed to give them part of their land at Otuocha.

They took the elders of Umuoba-Anam to see the land. Satisfied with the location, the elders of

Umuoba-Anam paid five cows to these elders of Umunchezi Umuleri in exchange for part of

Otuocha land to settle.56

When the people of Umuoba-Anam attempted to take possession of the land granted

them by the people of Umunchezi Umuleri, the Egbeagu kindred in Eziagulu Aguleri, the alleged

owners of the land, became aware of the possessory acts of the people of Umuoba-Anam on

their land. The youths of Egbeagu immediately invaded the area granted to Umuoba-Anam by

the elders of Umunchezi Umuleri, destroyed the thatch houses under construction and drove

Umuoba-Anam out of their land.57

According to the Memorandum submitted by Umuoba-Anam

to the National Boundary Commission Abuja, the elders of Umuoba-Anam complained to

Umunchezi people on three occasions that the Egbeagu people were disturbing their

possession of the land they had granted them. On each occasion, the elders of Umunchezi

Umuleri instead of confronting Egbeagu people and demanding that they leave Umuoba-Anam

people alone to settle on the land they had granted them, advised the people of Umuoba-Anam

to go and make peace with Egbeagu people and pay to them whatever they demanded.58

This

advice, coming from the supposed landowners, was not only odd; it was an outright deviation

from the norm. The ideal scenario would have been for the Umuleri elders to meet their Aguleri

neighbour and warn them to stop disturbing their tenant. This, however, was not done, thus

55

Ignatius Udealor, oral interview cited. 56

R.A. Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case (Enugu: Star Printing and Publishing Company Limited,

1981), 14. 57

Michael Aniekwensi, oral interview cited. 58

Memorandum Submitted by Umuoba-Anam Community to the National Boundary Commission, Abuja in Respect

of the Aguleri-Umuleri-Umuoba-Anam Crisis, November 16, 1999, 1.

P a g e | 28

indicating that the land did not belong to Umunchezi Umuleri. When the elders of Umunchezi

Umuleri refused to confront Egbeagu people over the land or to give back to Umuoba-Anam

the cows they had taken from them, the elders of Umuoba-Anam interpreted their attitude to

mean that the Egbeagu kindred of Aguleri were the rightful owner of the land.59

Angry that they

had obviously been swindled but left with no other choice, the elders of Umuoba-Anam

complied with the advice of the elders of Umunchezi Umuleri and negotiated with Egbeagu

people of Eziagulu Aguleri for the grant of land to settle.60

Umuoba-Anam community in

exchange for land to settle paid seven cows, eight hundred yams and eight hundred sticks of

dry fish to the Egbeagu people of Eziagulu Aguleri.61

Egbeagu people in granting Umuoba-Anam

land to settle doubled the area of land granted to the people of Umuoba-Anam by elders of

Umunchezi Umuleri.62

Ogbuevi Somadina Ovili of Egbeagu in July, 1910 planted Ogbu tree on

what is today known as Ama Umuoba-Anam (Umuoba-Anam public square) thereby giving

Umuoba-Anam people the authority and the right to inhabit the land.63

This grant of land by the

elders of Egbeagu remained effective as long as the people of Umuoba-Anam wished to stay.64

The difference between the two transactions is obvious. While the first transaction lacked

authority and was shady at best, the second transaction was done with the authority and

confidence of ownership. This was clear when the land initially given to Umuoba-Anam was

doubled and even in the planting of the Ogbu tree.

59

Ignatius Udealor, oral interview cited severally. 60


A Memorandum Submitted to The National Boundary Commission, Abuja by Aguleri Community in Respect of

Aguleri-Umuleri Boundary Dispute, 1999, 10. 62

A Memorandum Submitted by Umuoba-Anam Community, Otuocha to the National Boundary Commission,

Abuja in Respect of the Aguleri-Umuleri-Umuoba-Anam Crisis, 1999, 2. 63



Abuja in Respect of the Aguleri-Umuleri-Umuoba-Anam Crisis, 1999, 2.

P a g e | 29

According to the Memorandum submitted by Umuoba-Anam community to the

National Boundary Commission Abuja In 1999, the grant of land was made by Aguleri people

“through a customary tenancy with all the privileges and rights of ownership.”65

It is for this

reason that the claims and counter claims of Aguleri and Umuleri as to the ownership of

Otuocha always excluded the part of Otuocha allocated to Umuoba-Anam. Otuocha area at the

time of the settlement of Umuoba-Anam was mainly farm land uninhabited by either Aguleri or

Umuleri as both communities still had their home towns about five kilometres away in the

hinterland.66

Since this grant of land to Umuoba-Anam community was made first by

Umunchezi people and later by Egbeagu people of Aguleri, Umuoba-Anam has lived their full

traditional life in Otuocha as their home town without disturbance from either Aguleri or

Umuleri. Umuoba-Anam community is today an autonomous community in Otuocha.67

Background to the Conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri

Prior to the twentieth century, Aguleri people resided both at Enu Obodo Aguleri

(Inland town) and also across the Anambra (Omabala) River. Umuleri people at this time settled

only at Enu Obodo Umuleri (Inland town) bounded by Aguleri and Nsugbe on the West, Nteje

on the East, Aguleri on the North and Nsugbe on the South. By this original boundary, Aguleri

and Nsugbe effectively blocked Umuleri’s access to the Omabala River which was the intention

65





The Aguleri-Umuleri Crisis (April-July 1999) And The Umuoba-Anam Dilemma: A Statement of the Umuoba-

Anam Case, 1.

P a g e | 30

of Agulu Eri. As a result of this location factor, Umuleri people were land-locked and

disadvantaged.68

According to an informant, most of the land in the area now known as Otuocha

allegedly belonged to Egbeagu family in Eziagulu Aguleri.69

At about the first quarter of the

nineteenth century, Odeka, the daughter of Ogbuevi Odili Anabor, married into the Umunchezi

family in Umuleri was accused of witchcraft and driven out of her matrimonial home with her

son, Omonyi.70

On settling down at her paternal home at Egbeagu, her father, Ogbuevi Odili

Anabor, head of the Egbeagu family at that time, permitted her to farm at Udeabor land,

property of Egbeagu family in the present Otuocha area.71

Odeka farmed the land given to her

by her father with her son until her death. Her son, Omonyi inherited her farm land and

continued to cultivate it. To prevent wild animals from eating up all his farm produce, Omonyi

presumably with the consent of his uncles and the elders in his maternal home invited his

paternal cousins from Umunchezi Umuleri to farm the lands surrounding the land given to his

mother by his maternal grandfather.72

Omonyi and his cousins later invited their friends from

Nneyi Umuleri who joined them in farming Udeabor land. Omonyi was the father of Okafor

who was the father of George Okafor, the first plaintiff in suit no. 154/50, 0/2/65, 0/98/1975.73

Oral tradition of Aguleri reiterates that at this point in time, Egbeagu people had no problem

68

Michael Ilobiogua, 74 years, Retired Civil Servant, interviewed at Nsugbe, 17th

September, 2012. 69





Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, 62 years, Legal Practitioner, interviewed at Onitsha, 28th

October, 2012.

P a g e | 31

with Umuleri farmers on Udeabor land. In fact, they welcomed their assistance in clearing the

bushes and eliminating wild animals from Udeabor land.74

This story however does not seem to be true. Land has always been a valuable resource

and it is more so for farmers. While Umuleri may not have as much land as their Aguleri

neighbour, their population is also smaller. The land they had at that time should have been

more than enough for them to farm and build their houses without venturing into Aguleri lands.

Besides, Aguleri community in their memo submitted after the conflict of 1999 stated that until

the coming of the white man, both communities farmed and built on their respective parcels of

land.75

Again, there is a saying that once bitten, twice shy. While the family of Ogbuevi Odili

Anabor may not object to Omonyi relating with his father’s people, they would definitely not

have extended invitation to the same in-laws and their friends who had branded their daughter

a witch to come and farm on their land. But if for some unfathomable reason, they had done

this, the years they have spent in litigation may well be viewed as a just punishment for their

folly.

In 1891, Aguleri community, with the consent of Egbeagu people, leased a piece of

Otuocha land to Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited who called the area, Gloria Igbo.76

Aguleri community signed an agreement with Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited to

seal their deal. On 25th

June, 1898, people of Umunchezi Umuleri operating from Otu Nneyi on

the bank of Anambra (Omabala) River sold a portion of Udeabor land including Otu Nneyi to

74



Representatives Committee on Peace and National Reconciliation and Police Affairs in Respect of the Aguleri,

Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam Conflict of 1999, 2. 76

Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case . . . , 1.

P a g e | 32

Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited.77

Like Aguleri community, the Umunchezi people

of Ikenga Umuleri signed agreement with Royal Niger Company to seal their deal. According to

the Niger Lands Transfer Ordinance of 25th

February 1916, this land sold by the Umuleri to the

Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited was vested in the Governor of Nigeria as from 1st

January 1900.78

The officials of Royal Niger Company paid what they considered fair market

price for the land. The vendors were given heads of tobacco, hot drinks, kegs of gun powder

and cubes of sugar as payment for the land.79

Both communities claim to be ignorant of the transaction of the other.80

But the fact that

Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited started operation shortly after their transaction

with Aguleri clearly proves that the Umuleri were aware of the transaction of Aguleri people

with the company. If on the other hand, Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited later

acquired more land from Umuleri people but did not develop it immediately, it would be safe to

assume that the people of Aguleri were not aware of the transaction until much later.

Moreover, a careful reading of the agreements signed by the two parties with Royal Niger

Company Chartered and Limited shows that while the signatories of Aguleri community acted in

a representative capacity, those of Umunchezi Umuleri acted in individual capacity.81

However, with the sale of another portion of Udeabor by Umuleri people to Umuoba-

Anam in 1910, Egbeagu family in Eziagulu Aguleri became aware of their activities. Furious that

their land was sold without their knowledge or consent, Egbeagu people accused Umunchezi

77

Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, oral interview cited severally. 78


Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, oral Interview cited severally. 80

Vincent Aniegboke, 66 years, Farmer, interviewed in Umuleri, 15th

September, 2012. 81

Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, oral interview cited severally.

P a g e | 33

family of colluding with other families in Umuleri to sell their lands. They demanded that the

thatch farm houses which Umuleri people built at Otu Nneyi be dismantled and that the people

that usually converge there who are derisively called Anamechendiocha meaning I am waiting

for the white men by Aguleri people should disperse.82

When people from different parts of

Umuleri continued to assemble there to await the arrival of the Europeans, Egbeagu youths

invaded Otu Nneyi and destroyed the thatch houses used by the people as a rest place. The

invasion did not last more than a few minutes. No one was injured and no life lost as Umuleri

people offered little resistance.83

This was the first known conflict between Aguleri and

Umuleri.

However, some months after the invasion, the thatch houses at Otu Nneyi were rebuilt

by Umuleri farmers and businessmen. The beach came alive again with people from different

parts of Umuleri doing their respective businesses while awaiting the arrival of strangers in

need of land. In that same year, the people of Umunchezi Umuleri instituted the first legal

action against the Egbeagu people of Aguleri over Otuocha land.84

One can hardly blame them

for taking that step. Egbeagu people of Eziagulu Aguleri by their inaction had proven that the

land was of little consequence to them. By 1920, the farm houses became permanent

structures and the strain in the relationship between the two communities deepened.85

The fact that the Egbeagu people of Eziagulu Aguleri turned a blind eye to the return of

the Umuleri to Otu Nneyi is strange given their earlier reaction. Nothing had changed. The land

82


Michael Aniekwensi, oral interview severally. 84


Michael Aniekwensi, oral interview cited severally.

P a g e | 34

still belonged to them and they had withdrawn their permission for Umuleri people to farm or

trade on it. They should have taken the action of the Umuleri as the challenge that it was. If

they were actually interested in safeguarding their land, they should never have allowed the

thatch houses the Umuleri erected on their land to become permanent structures. Their action

lacked the interest, seriousness and confidence of ownership. The court action instituted

against them by Umunchezi Umuleri should have jolted them into action but it did not. In 1933,

Umunchezi Umuleri, hopeful of a favourable verdict, given the disinterest of the Egbeagu

kindred of Eziagulu Aguleri, instituted another court case against Egbeagu people of Aguleri.

Aguleri-Umuleri Conflict of 1933

The year, 1933 was an important year in the history of Aguleri and Umuleri. It was the

year the court actions between the two communities took a turn for the worse. In 1933, the

strain in the relationship between the two communities over ownership of Otuocha culminated

in full blown conflict. In 1933, the people of Umunchezi Umuleri sued the Egbeagu people of

Aguleri in the native court claiming a portion of land extending up to “Ugwunwusaku.”86

The

case was heard by Captain O’Connor. In his judgment, Capt. O’Connor stated that the land

Umuleri sold to Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited was vested in the Governor.

Aguleri community, according to him, was late in challenging the validity of the sale of land by

Umuleri to the Royal Niger Company. Delay, it is said, defeats equity and on the bases of this,

O’Connor awarded title of ownership to Umuleri.87

Dissatisfied with this judgment, Egbeagu

people of Aguleri appealed against it. The appeal was heard at Onitsha High Court by Mr.

86



P a g e | 35

Justice Graham Paul. He contended that by the 1898 agreement, Umuleri community had

divested themselves of all rights and interests in the land and that their claim for the land

should be dismissed and awarded title of ownership of the land to Aguleri.88

This struggle for

ownership of Otuocha land was the remote cause of Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1933.

The domineering personality of Eze Raphael Anakwuba Idigo, king of Aguleri at that

time, was another remote cause of the conflict. He was crowned in February, 1910. Among his

numerous achievements was the peaceful campaign for and acquisition of a vast area of Aguleri

land from Otu Aguleri to Obale in Kogi State.89

This vast land area provided more farm lands

and fish ponds for the people of Aguleri and it helped improve their economy.90

Eze Raphael

Anakwuba Idigo grew so powerful that his word was law not just in Aguleri but also in Umuleri

and Umuoba-Anam.91

The Additional Memorandum submitted to the National Commission,

Abuja by Aguleri community stated

Late Eze R.A. Idigo became Igwe of Aguleri in February, 1910

and between 1915 and 1935, no land transaction occurred in

Ameze Aguleri and Udeabor without his consent and approval.

He designed the plan and outlay for Ameze Aguleri and

Udeabor. Hence, it was not by accident that most of the roads

originating from Ameze Aguleri crossed the tarred road into

Udeabor. He organized wrestling contests annually at Udeabor

public square for youths of Aguleri, Umuleri and Umuoba-

Anam up till 1945. Then his word was law in the three

communities. The local dispensary, St. Gabriel’s Anglican

88


F.C. Idigo, Eri Kingdom of an Igbo King from Israel (Lagos: X-Pose Communications, LTD, 2001), 165. 90

Idigo, Eri Kingdom of an Igbo King from Israel . . . , 165. 91

Additional Memorandum Submitted to The National Boundary Commission, Abuja by Aguleri Community In

Respect of Aguleri-Umuleri Boundary Dispute on December 16, 1999, 2.

P a g e | 36

Church and school, Udeabor and St. Peter’s Anglican Church,

Aguleri were established at his instance. 92

The influence R.A. Idigo may not have been exaggerated. This is because until the Chieftaincy edict

of 1976, Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam only had traditional prime ministers.93

These traditional prime

ministers presupposedly held meetings with Eze R.A. Idigo in Aguleri. Also, it is important to

mention here that one of the reasons for the conflicts between Aguleri community and Obale in

Kogi State is the fact that the people of Obale are trying to take back some of the lands and fish

ponds which they had given Aguleri. It is their opinion that Aguleri took advantage of their ignorance

and took their land from them.94

The immediate cause of Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1933 was the decree of Eze Raphael

Idigo that there should be no smoking in Otuocha market.95

This decree annoyed Umuleri

people who already resented his domineering personality. Umuleri people therefore flouted

Eze Idigo’s decree by coming to market with cigarettes. Eze Idigo on hearing this sent his guards

to go and arrest the defaulters.96

These guards went with spears and arrows. The Umuleri who

were larger in number compared to the guards and who had come to the market prepared,

resisted the arrest. In the course of the resistance, conflict broke out between Aguleri and

Umuleri. The conflict lasted for few hours. The weapons used were spears, arrows and clubs.

Mgbakor Aruevoru from Eziagulu, Aguleri died from spear wound.97

Mr. Gika from Amukwa

92

Additional Memorandum Submitted to The National Boundary Commission, Abuja by Aguleri Community In

Respect of Aguleri-Umuleri Boundary Dispute, 1999, 2. 93

Ezeakonobi Ekweonu, 50 years, Traditional Prime Minister, interviewed at Umuleri, 11th

November, 2012. 94

Christopher Idigo, 67 years, Traditional Ruler, interviewed at Aguleri, 15th

July, 2013. 95

John Uderike Egwuonwu, 60 years, Paint Manufacturer, interviewed at Umuleri, 31st

October, 2012. 96

John Uderike Egwuonwu, oral interview cited. 97


P a g e | 37

village, Umuleri also received a near fatal spear wound.98

Several others on both sides were

wounded.

The immediate cause of the conflict of 1933 appears flimsy at face value. A close

examination however reveals a trap. An informant described the Umuleri as a people who give

new definition to the word, daring. In describing the Aguleri, he noted that their cheerful and

easy going nature masks a ruthlessly calculating temperament.99

If one were to relate this

assessment to the conflict of 1933, one would realize that the people of Aguleri were furious

with the court case the Umuleri instigated against them. It would also not be farfetched to

assume that they were aware that the Umuleri had become increasingly resentful of Eze R.A.

Idigo’s administration. Patiently, they waited for the bubbling soup to spill over. When Eze R.A.

Idigo’s no smoking decree was enacted, the tolerance of the Umuleri was stretched to its limit.

When the Umuleri resisted arrest, the Aguleri pounced and conflict erupted.

After this conflict, the Aguleri and the Umuleri continued their litigations but there was

no outbreak of conflict between them again throughout the colonial period. In 1935, the people

of Umunchezi Umuleri in Suit No. 0/85/1935 sued the Egbeagu people of Aguleri again over a

piece of land called Aguakor.100

The Umuleri were non-suited. In 1950, sequel to the

abandonment of Otuocha land by the government of Nigeria, Umuleri sued Aguleri over

Otuocha land in Suit No. 0/48/50. The case was dismissed with a hundred guineas cost against

the Umuleri.101

On the 3rd

of February, 1955, the sum of one hundred guineas deposited in

98

John Uderike Egwuonwu, oral interview cited severally. 99



Representatives in Respect of the Aguleri, Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam Conflict of 1999, 10. 101


P a g e | 38

court as costs was paid out to the Aguleri.102

On 25TH

February 1955, Umuleri appealed to the

West African Court of Appeal (WACA) and lost.103

In 1958, the Umuleri in Appeal No. 4 of 1958,

appealed to the Privy Court, London and lost.104

102




P a g e | 39

CHAPTER THREE

AGULERI-UMULERI COMMUNAL CONFLICTS, 1964- 1999

The Conflict OF 1964

In 1964, thirty one years after the conflict of 1933 and four years after independence,

another conflict erupted between Aguleri and Umuleri. This conflict is popularly referred to in

both communities as Ogu Ezenwa.105

The conflict destroyed the uneasy calm (caused by the

incessant court battles) existing between them. The conflict which erupted on 26th

December,

1964 was of great significance because in that year, the conflict between the two communities

assumed a different dimension. It became more violent as guns came into use in the conflicts.

Private properties also became targets for destruction in the conflicts between the two

communities.

Among the remote causes of the conflict of 1964 was the declaration of the Otuocha

land in dispute as Otuocha Aguleri. This declaration was made by Chief J.U. Nwodo, Minister of

Local Government on 15th

October, 1964.106

The Gazette notice effecting the change stated

The schedule to Anambra County Council

(Establishment) Instrument 1959, is hereby

amended by replacing in column one (word 18)

thereof the expression “Otuocha” with the

following new expression “Otuocha Aguleri.”107

The appearance of the Gazette notice pleased Aguleri people immensely. Umuleri people on

the other hand were furious with the notice.108

They believed that Chief Paul Ndigwe, a

105

Michael Aniekwensi, 65 years, Herbalist, interviewed at Aguleri, September 15, 2012. 106

Memorandum Submitted by Aguleri Community to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission, 1995, 7. 107

R. A. Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case (Enugu: Star Printing and Publishing Company Limited,

1981), 31. 108


P a g e | 40

legislator from Aguleri had used his influence to get Chief J.U. Nwodo to make the

declaration.109

Umuleri community challenged the legality of the Gazette publication in which

Otuocha was changed to Otuocha Aguleri in court. Umuleri community however, lost the suit

against Chief J.U. Nwodo.110

The conviction on the part of Umuleri that Aguleri used their son’s influence to get Chief

J.U. Nwodo to declare Otuocha as Otuocha Aguleri is not unfounded. Chief J.U. Nwodo is not

from Aguleri. He is from Nsukka. As the Minister of Local Government at that time, he was

certainly not ignorant of the strife and court actions which people of both communities have

instituted against each other over the years. He should have remained neutral by leaving the

title the way he met it. The fact that he did not clearly indicates that he was influenced by

someone from Aguleri to do so.

Another remote cause of the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1964 was Ada masquerade

display of 1963. Ada (Edda) masquerade is a type of masquerade that Aguleri, Umuleri,

Umuoba-Anam and Nsugbe have in common.111

It is not a noisy masquerade and it always

moves en-masse. The origin of Ada masquerade display in Aguleri lay in the defeat of Ada

(Edda) invaders by Aguleri. Ada (Edda) invaders were known for their skill in warfare. In ancient

times, they annihilated a number of communities. Their failure to penetrate Nsugbe’s defence

was what popularized the saying, Nsugbe bu ugwu na anyi oso meaning Nsugbe is a town that

cannot be easily subdued.112

When Ada (Edda) invaders got to Aguleri, they were roundly

defeated by Aguleri warriors. As a result of this, Ada masquerade display takes place in Nsugbe

109

Memorandum Submitted by Umuleri Community to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry,

1995 , 13. 110


Michael Ilobiogua, 74 years, Retired Civil Servant, interviewed at Nsugbe, September 17, 2012. 112


P a g e | 41

and Aguleri in remembrance of Ada (Edda) invaders who could not penetrate Nsugbe’s defence

and who received crushing defeat in Aguleri.113

With time, neighbouring communities of

Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam assimilated this masquerade display as part of their cultural

entertainment.114

In December, 1963 Aguleri people had their Ada masquerade display. The masquerades

went as far as the rest house (present motherless babies home) along Otuocha road,

entertained the people and went home without causing trouble. Umuoba-Anam had their

masquerade display and went home without causing any trouble. When the time came for

Umuleri Ada masquerade display, the masquerades did their display along Otuocha market

road for a while before suddenly entering Ameze Aguleri through the present Ivenso street.115

They headed for Ama Igwe (the king’s public square). After Premier Primary School, Ameze

Aguleri, the masquerades started throwing stones and short sticks at people and houses.

Windows of houses were broken and a lot of people wounded.116

After this rampage, some of

the masquerades and their followers ran back to Umuleri through the present St. Augustine

road while the others ran home through the road leading from Ama Igwe to Otuocha market

chanting war songs.117

The attack could not have lasted up to thirty minutes yet a lot of damage

was done to people and properties in Aguleri. Aguleri people given the suddenness of the

attack could not react.118

However, they decided that Umuleri masquerades would never enter

their community again.

113

Michael Ilobiogua, oral interview cited severally. 114


Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, 62 years, Legal Practitioner, interviewed at Onitsha, October 28, 2012. 116


Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, oral interview cited. 118


P a g e | 42

The attack on Aguleri by Ada masquerades of Umuleri was certainly not from the left

field. It was pre-meditated. As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Violent display

like the type exhibited by the Ada masquerades from Umuleri often masks bitterness and

frustration. The Umuleri must have been holding a grudge against the Aguleri and so decided to

use their masquerade to exert revenge on the Aguleri by inflicting harm on the people and their

properties.

A year later, on 26th

December, 1964, Umuleri had another Ada masquerade display.

When the masquerades had finished displaying within their community, they trooped to

Otuocha from the road leading from the rest house into Umuleri.119

They tried to enter Aguleri

again but this time, Aguleri youths were prepared. They blocked all the entrances into Aguleri

and refused to grant them passage. Some of the masquerades tried to enter Aguleri through

the present Nebo Street and when they were refused entry, they started throwing stones and

broke the windows in Robert Idigo’s house and the windows of some other people living along

Otuocha market road.120

Aguleri youths promptly replied with their own stones. When it

became clear to the youths of Umuleri that Aguleri youths would not allow them into their

community, they went back home. Aguleri youths went back into Aguleri too. Few hours later,

gunshots were supposedly heard inside Umuleri. Apparently, Aguleri people were also ready

with their own guns and fired a couple of shots into the air.121

Barely two hours later, both

parties faced off each other. Umuleri youths were behind the site of the present Umuleri town

119


Stephen Ikwunne Oveli, 83 years, Business man, interviewed at Aguleri, October 31, 2012. 121

Stephen Ikwunne Oveli, oral interview cited.

P a g e | 43

hall while Aguleri youths were behind the present Aguleri post office.122

Ezenwa Anekwe led

Umuleri warriors as he was the bearer of Umuleri war charm, Ibobo.123

Just as Ezenwa stepped

foot on the tarred road, a shot rang out from Aguleri side. The force of its impact lifted Ezenwa

up and he was thrown to the ground. The medicine pot he was carrying on his head shattered

spilling its content on the road. He died on the spot.124

Most Umuleri warriors behind him took

to their heels but a few remained and exchanged bullets with Aguleri youths. Aguleri lost Mr.

Nwekwu but when Umuleri lost Mr. Nwasa alias Oyoyo, the remaining warriors fled.125

Aguleri

people started jubilations. They picked up the dead warrior and went home. The conflict of

1964 only lasted a few hours. A good number of people from both sides were wounded. Dane

guns, machetes and clubs were weapons used in the conflict of 1964. Warriors from Aguleri

who fought the conflict of 1964 are Luke Idigo, Muoneke Chinwuba, Obidigbe Chude, Enwenye

Ndive, Uba Uyanne, Ikem Agbata, Nwekwu.126

Warriors of Umuleri who fought the conflict of

1964 include Ezenwa Anekwe, Nwasa alias Oyoyo, Anago Nwugo, Ovoka Ezima.127

The conflict of 1964, like the attack of Umuleri Ada masquerades on Aguleri the previous

year, was planned. This time, it was planned by the people of both communities. That is the

only explanation for the ease with which they procured the weapons used in the conflict. Also,

the fact that the war charm, Ibobo, used for victory in conflict and for fortification of youths

was ready at a moment’s notice lends credence to the fact that the conflict was not as sudden

as the people of both communities claimed. Items used in the preparation of Ibobo often

122




Joseph Egbunike Onwalor, 60 years, Male, Civil Servant, interviewed at Onitsha, October 24, 2012. 126

Joseph Egbunike Onwualor, oral interview cited. 127

Joseph Egbunike Onwalor, oral interview cited severally.

P a g e | 44

include head of a python, chameleons, heart of a leopard or elephant.128

While there was

already a market for such items by 1995, those materials were certainly not easy to come by in

1964.129

The fact that the Ibobo was ready indicates that the Umuleri anticipated the conflict

and were prepared for it. On the part of Aguleri, one would see in action the belief that revenge

is a meal best served cold. The fact that the Umuleri inflicted harm on their people and

properties the previous year and went back unscathed obviously did not sit well with them.

They planned and waited for a perfect opportunity to strike. That opportunity came a year later

with the Ada masquerade display of 1964 and they availed themselves of that opportunity.

After the conflict, police arrested Luke Idigo, Muoneke Chinwuba, Obidigbe Chude and

they later went to prison.130

Ovoka Ezima and three others from Umuleri also went to prison.131

The government of Eastern Nigeria in an attempt to avert another conflict published Order No.

4 of 16th

January, 1965 prohibiting the possession of dane guns, flint lock guns or cap guns by

any person in the area covering Aguleri Local Council Otuocha, Aguleri Local Council Area and

Umuleri Local Council Area.132

The leaders of both communities met and before long, Iko Mme,

the traditional method of conflict management was carried out and with that, the Aguleri-

Umuleri communal conflict of 1964 ended.

The conflict of 1964 however, did not end the struggle for ownership of Otuocha. The

theatre of conflict was merely relocated to the law courts. After the Nigerian Civil War, the East

Central Government yielded to the pressure of the Umuleri and changed the expression,

128

Michael Aniekwensi, oral interview cited. 129


Joseph Egbunike Onwalor, oral interview cited severally. 131

Vincent Nwasi, 76 years, Business man, interviewed at Umuleri, October 23, 2012. 132

Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case. . . , 32.

P a g e | 45

Otuocha Aguleri to Otuocha.133

In 1975, the Aguleri sued the Umuleri in Suit No. 0/98/75 for

the exclusive ownership of Otuocha at the High Court, Onitsha and lost.134

In 1981, the Aguleri

community in Suit No. FCA/E/231/78 appealed against the judgement to the Federal Court of

Appeal, Enugu.135

On 24th

June, 1981, the Court of Appeal unanimously set aside the judgement

of the High Court, Onitsha and gave Aguleri community title over Otuocha land. In 1982, the

Umuleri in Suit No. SC.65/82 appealed against the judgement of the Federal Court of Appeal to

the Supreme Court of Nigeria.136

The Supreme Court on the 1st

of June, 1984 set aside the

decision of the Court of Appeal and decreed that each party was to retain its holdings before

the case.137

The judgement of the apex court left the people of both communities dissatisfied

but there was nowhere else to go. Eleven years later, the extent of their dissatisfaction with the

Supreme Court Judgement of 1984 became public knowledge for it was one of the remote

causes for the conflict of 1995.

133













Memorandum Submitted by Aguleri Community to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry,

1995, 10.

P a g e | 46

The Conflict of 1995

Thirty one years after the eruption of the conflict of 1964, both communities

experienced a resurgence of the conflict. The change in the magnitude and dimension of this

conflict was evident not only in the weaponry but also in the duration of the conflict. While the

conflicts of 1933 and 1964 lasted for a few hours; that of 1995 lasted for ten days. The conflict

which broke out on 30th

September, 1995 was an indication that the Supreme Court judgement

of 1984 was not well received by both communities who firmly believed that land is a property

to be defended and not shared. Since the law court was unable to solve their problem, they

decided to employ violence in resolving their differences. Confident that their weapons of

destruction was superior and forgetting the hardships and sufferings that accompany violent

conflicts, both communities who had discarded the dane guns of 1964 in favour of more

sophisticated weapons, decided to test the effectiveness of the new fire power on one another.

The result was the bloodbath of 1995. Expectedly, with this conflict of 1995 came two new

trends, arson and population displacement.

One of the remote causes of this conflict was the Supreme Court Judgment of 1984

which is generally known in both communities as the Live and Let live judgment.138

The

Supreme Court stated that

If as the evidence shows, the Aguleris and Umuleris

lived side by side together, farmed side by side together

and built and lived on the land in peace and harmony

before divisive forces entered their midst, there is no

reason why they should not recapture the peace and

harmony that has been lost to them over these years of

litigation now that neither the Aguleris nor the Umuleris

138

Michael Ilobiogua, oral interview cited severally.

P a g e | 47

have been able to establish that they are exclusive

owners.139

By this judgement, each party was to retain its holdings before the case.140

Following this

judgment, Umuleri elite launched a sustained propaganda campaign in the media that they had

won the case and that Otuocha had become “Otuocha Umuleri”.141

This was the first sign that

an evil star had taken residence in both communities and if not checked, calamity would befall

the two communities. Aguleri community wrote to the Secretary of Old Anambra State Military

Government, Anambra Local Government, the Police in old Anambra State and the mass media,

complaining that the provocative acts of Umuleri people was capable of causing a breakdown

of law and order but no action was taken by government to bring the situation under control.142

The Government White Paper report on the conflict of 1995 later blamed the President General

of Umuleri, Chief John Metchie for misconstruction of court pronouncements.143

The state, according to Hearts Ofoeze, is the illimitable sovereign authority exercising

the ultimate supreme power to make and enforce authoritative decisions that are binding on all

persons, groups and institutions within its territorial jurisdiction.144

The state is also credited

with the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of people within its territorial

139

Judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria Delivered in June 1984 (Supreme Court of Nigeria, 1984), 63-64. 140


1995, 10. 141




Memorandum Submitted By the People of Aguleri to the Honourable Members of House of Representative


Anam Conflicts of 1999, 12. 143

Government White Paper on the Report of the Aguleri and Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry,

February, 1997, 11. 144

H. G. A. Ofoeze, “The State and Conflicts in Nigeria: A Public Policy Perspective,” Miriam Ikejiani-Clark (ED.)

Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria: A Reader (Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited, 2009), 176.

P a g e | 48

jurisdiction. Given the power and authority available at the disposal of the state, there is no

justification for their inaction in the face of such potentially violent situation. Blaming the

President General of Umuleri, Chief John Metchie for misconstruction of court pronouncements

in the Government White Paper Report published after the conflict of 1995 reflects

incompetence of the worst kind on the part of the state. It also portrays a flagrant disrespect

for the lives and properties of the people whom the state is meant to protect.

The incursion of Umuleri people into Otuocha land is also one of the remote causes of

the conflict of 1995. Umuleri community violated the Supreme Court Judgment of 1984 by

pulling down the building of Fundamental Apostolic Faith Mission, Aguleri. In October, of that

same year, they began digging foundation for Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, Umuleri on

the land belonging to the Fundamental Apostolic Faith Mission, Aguleri.145

It must be

mentioned at this point that Fundamental Apostolic Faith Mission, Aguleri had been in

occupation of that land since 1946.146

Many years after the occupation of this land by the

Fundamental Apostolic Faith Mission, Aguleri, the Roman Catholic Mission, Umuleri erected

their presbytery behind them. In order to demarcate their land from that of their neighbour,

the Roman Catholic Mission fenced their plot.147

When the Nigerian Civil War ended, the

Umuleri on seeing the dilapidated building of the Fundamental Apostolic Faith Church, entered

the land, destroyed the church and forcibly removed the blocks, hips of sand and other

145



Anam Conflicts of April to August 1999, 12. 146

Memorandum Submitted by Fundamental Apostolic Faith Mission, Aguleri to the Chairman Aguleri-Umuleri

Disturbances Commission of Inquiry, November 11, 1995, 1. 147


Disturbances Commission of Inquiry, 1995, 1.

P a g e | 49

properties belonging to the church and started the construction of Our Lady of Victory Catholic

Church, Umuleri.

The pastor reported the matter to Aguleri community and Aguleri community reported

the matter to the police. After their investigations, the Police conjecturably found enough

evidence to show that the land belonged to Aguleri and ordered construction stopped on the

land to avoid a breach of peace. Umuleri community ignored the order of the Police.148

On 11th

October, 1984, the Assistant Police Officer in charge of Onitsha zone, Mr. M.A Nyong

summoned leaders of Aguleri and Umuleri communities to ascertain facts about the disputed

land and to encourage the peaceful settlement of the dispute but Umuleri people allegedly

walked out of the meeting.149

Aguleri community then lodged a complaint to the Arch Diocese

of Onitsha. Despite the warnings of His Grace, Arch Bishop, Francis Arinze, to Umuleri

community to stop building a Catholic Church on a disputed land, Umuleri community

continued construction on the land.150

Aguleri community in anger attacked the construction

site and destroyed the newly erected statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.151

Umuleri eventually

completed the building of the Church and it was named Our Lady of Victory.

Christianity is a religion that preaches love and accommodation. Christ, the founder of

Christianity condemns oppression. The attitude of the Catholics of Umuleri was unchristian and

148


1995, 11. 149



Anam Conflicts, 1999, 12. 150



Anam Conflicts, 1999, 12. 151

Memorandum submitted by Umuleri community to Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Enquiry, 1995

under the Chairmanship of Hon. Justice M.O. Nweje Set Up by Military Administrator of Anambra State Col. Mike

Attah, 18.

P a g e | 50

uncharitable to say the least. The fact that Fundamental Apostolic Faith Mission, Aguleri was a

lowly mud house with thatched roof which was already falling apart when the Nigeria-Biafra

civil war ended; while the Roman Catholic Mission, Umuleri was a modern building erected with

cement,152

did not in any way imply that God had stopped listening to the prayers of the faithful

who worshipped in the mud house. It also does not in any way justify the destruction of the

church building. Again, the choice of appellation for Our Lady is significant. The name was

obviously chosen in celebration of the fact that they had succeeded in taking away the land

belonging to another church, a church that worships the same God, the God of victory. It must

also be mentioned that although the Umuleri succeeded in building their church, they lost the

peace for Aguleri community was determined that they would not enjoy their victory. This is

evident in the fact that in the conflicts of 1995 and 1999, Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church,

Umuleri was vandalized.153

Again, if the Umuleri walked out on the Police, their action is condemnable. It is an insult

to the Police and the government who gave them the authority to ensure security of lives and

properties. Both the Aguleri and the Umuleri have often blamed government and the Police for

failing to come to their rescue in times of conflicts. Rebuffing the attempts of the Police to

resolve their differences with Aguleri is certainly a rejection of their offer of assistance.

Another remote cause of the conflict of 1995 was the erection of a life size billboard by

Umuleri community with inscriptions, “Welcome to Otuocha Umuleri” and “Good-bye from

152


Disturbances Commission of Inquiry, 1995, 1. 153

Raphael Igwah, 67 years, Retired Journalist, interviewed at Enugu, December 18, 2012.

P a g e | 51

Otuocha Umuleri.”154

This bill board, erected in the premises of the Motherless babies’ home

along Otuocha market road did not bode well for peace. The Police, on getting the report from

Aguleri community on the bill board erected by their Umuleri neighbour, recognized that it was

likely to ignite the already smouldering embers of conflict. They allegedly advised Igwe Nelson

Okoye of Umuleri to have the bill board removed but this was not done.155

Aguleri people

eventually took matters into their own hands by having the bill board removed.156

The struggle for ownership of Otuocha land has been at the heart of the incessant

conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri. Both communities have fought tooth and nail to ensure

that neither would gain exclusive ownership of Otuocha. In fact, the power tussle between the

two communities over Otuocha land can best be tagged “if I cannot have it, neither will you.”

This is evident in 1964, when the efforts of Aguleri community to lay claims on Otuocha land

contributed to the Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts of 1964. It is also evident in the action of the

Aguleri when they removed the bill board erected by the Umuleri which declared them the

owners of Otuocha. The action of the Aguleri and the Umuleri was amongst the conflict trigger

of 1995.

The destruction of the ware house belonging to the Late Eze A. E. Idigo 111 and the

erection of Umuleri town hall Otuocha on that land provoked Aguleri people. Aguleri youths

invaded the project site with the intention of halting the project and destroying the structures

already put up. When the Police and state government intervened and ordered the

154


1995, 11. 155


1995, 11. 156

Memorandum submitted by Umuleri community to Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Enquiry, 1995,

18.

P a g e | 52

construction on the site stopped, Aguleri youths stopped the attack.157

Umuleri community

later completed their town hall. Although Aguleri community failed to stop them from building

on the land, Umuleri Town Hall was destroyed by Aguleri community in the conflicts of 1995

and 1999. This is an indication of the fact that Aguleri community have not given up their claim

on the land. The implication of this for Umuleri is that at the end of every conflict, a lot of

money goes into the reconstruction of their town hall.

The fact that between 1984 and 1994, properties of the following Aguleri persons namely

Mr. Godwin Chukwuemeka, Engr. Pius Idigo, Engr. George Chiatula and Mr. Mike Titus Nwata

which were in various stages of completion on the Aguleri side of Otuocha were demolished by

Umuleri people also contributed to the conflict of 1995.158

The memo submitted by Aguleri

community to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry, laid the blame for this

destruction on Igwe Nelson Okoye, the traditional ruler of Umuleri. Aguleri community claimed

in this memo that Igwe Nelson Okoye had boasted that as long as he lived, nobody would build

on Aguleri side of Otuocha without his permission.159

The allegation against Igwe N.U. Okoye was not unfounded. It is common knowledge

amongst the people of both communities and even neighbouring communities that while he

lived, Igwe N.U. Okoye referred to the people of Aguleri as his tenants.160

In view of this, it is

reasonable to infer that he expected those who built on the Aguleri side of Otuocha to have

sought his consent as the “landlord” before erecting their buildings. The fact that they did not

157






1995, 12. 160


P a g e | 53

do this may not have sat well with him. It is also important to mention here that the miscreants

who destroyed those buildings did not act alone. They must have had the consent of either

their Igwe or some well placed members of the community who would come to their rescue if

they were caught. On the other hand, Igwe N.U. Okoye may have had nothing to do with the

demolition. He may have been only guilty of unguarded utterances. If this were the case, one

may liken him to the tortoise who said that he would trample a pregnant woman if war broke

out. War eventually broke out, a pregnant woman was killed in the stampede and though the

tortoise was innocent, he was arrested because his unguarded utterances had implicated him in

the woman’s death.

The decision of Aguleri community to erect a modern market and motor park in Otuocha

in August, 1995 also contributed to the conflict of 1995. Naturally, the information was ill

received by Umuleri community. They petitioned the Anambra State Military Administrator

who referred the matter to Anambra State Boundary Committee.161

The members of the

Committee reviewed the petition and directed the Chairman of Anambra State Local

Government Caretaker Committee to stop treading the dangerous path as his actions could

cause a bloody clash.162

Aguleri community however, threw caution to the wind and continued

their market and motor park project.

Aguleri community obviously undertook this project to gain control of some part of

Otuocha land and contain Umuleri expansion in Otuocha. However, the timing for this project

was poor. The situation between the two communities at that time was volatile at best. Their

161

Memorandum submitted by Umuleri community to Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Enquiry,

1995,10. 162


10.

P a g e | 54

defiant dismissal of the directives of the Anambra State Boundary Committee is not only

insulting to the government from whom they derive their authority; it implies a determination

to bear the consequences of their action. Barely a month later, matters came to a head and

both communities clashed yet again.

All these actions were clearly danger signals. They confirmed Aja Akpuru Aja’s assertion

that for every conflict situation, there are bound to be conflict indicators.163

Yet, in spite of all

these conflict signals, no significant effort was made on the part of government or the Police to

halt this situation of potential conflict. So far, the action of the Police at Otuocha did not reflect

the authority that came with their position. Their action indicates that they had not fully

grasped the responsibility that came with their duties of securing the lives and properties of the

people. No one who lives or works in Otuocha is ignorant of the fact that land has been the

main cause of conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri. Yet, the Police failed to take decisive

actions to bring the situation under control. The failure of the Police to use their good office to

restore calm gave the conflict trigger in September, 1995 an aura of inevitability.

Thursday, 14th

September, 1995, can best be described as a black Thursday in the

communities of Aguleri and Umuleri. This is because the events of that day triggered a chain

reaction that culminated in the outbreak of conflict on the 30th

of September, 1995. At 7:00am

that fateful morning, a bulldozer was spotted clearing the cassava farms belonging to people

from Eziagulu Aguleri. The farmland was situated behind the Idemili shrine of Eziagulu Aguleri

and opposite Technical School, Umuleri along Onitsha-Aguleri expressway.164

The driver of the

163

A. A. Aja, Basic Concepts, Issues and Strategies of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Nigerian-African Conflict Case

Studies (Enugu: Keny and Brothers Enterprise, 2007), 16. 164

Christopher Idigo, 67 years, Traditional Ruler, interviewed at Aguleri, July 15, 2013.

P a g e | 55

bulldozer directed all inquires to Chief Daniel Ekwevi who owned the land.165

Chief Ekwevi,

Okwuoto Ekeneze of Umuleri, who was described by the Aguleri community as the fulcrum on

which the invasion revolves, had bought the land from another Umuleri man to build a filling

station.166

The land turned out to be communal farm land of some families from Eziagulu

Aguleri.167

Chief Ekwevi promised to compensate the weeping women who stood helplessly as

their efforts were flushed down the drain. The farmers went to the elders of Eziagulu Aguleri

and informed them of the new development. The leader of the farmers then went to the Police

and lodged a complaint of malicious damage to property against Chief Ekwevi.168

This complaint

was supposedly taken down in writing on a piece of paper by a desk clerk but was not

transferred to the station’s diary as the people discovered when events unfolded.169

Between 15th

and 16th

September, 1995, Eziagulu people of Aguleri discovered that one of

their own, Anyanwumeli Nguka had secretly leased the land communally owned by his kindred

to Ikeli Anekwe of Mgbago Umuleri.170

Ikeli Anekwe, for reasons best known to him, sold the

land leased to him to Chief Ekwevi.171

Armed with this information, the elders of Eziagulu

Aguleri made efforts to get the Police to stop further clearing on the land so that the matter

could be resolved but this proved abortive. They therefore tabled the matter before the elders

of Aguleri. By 17th

September, the elders of Aguleri held a meeting and decided that another

165


1995, 16. 166

Government White Paper on the Report of the Aguleri and Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry, 1997,

10. 167



1995, 17. 169


17. 170



P a g e | 56

complaint should be made to the Police the next day. They also agreed that in line with

tradition, the youths should inter-plant cassava on the cleared farmland.172

This implies in the

tradition of both communities that the land is in dispute. According to tradition, the person

developing the land is expected to find out who was contesting ownership of the land with him

so that they would resolve the matter.173

These directives of the elders were carried out on

18th

September. Chief Ekwevi however ignored the implication of the inter-planted cassava and

refused to find out who was contesting the ownership of the land with him. By 23rd

September,

tipper load of blocks, sand and thugs arrived at the site. Barely three days later, work begun in

earnest at the site. Aguleri people in their memo to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbance

Committee claimed that Chief Ekwevi employed the services of thugs to ensure that

construction was not interrupted.174

Chief Ekwevi can hardly be faulted for buying land to build a filling station. One may even

sympathise with him for buying land that was not genuine. It is no news that some people like

Ikeli Anekwe have made a career of relieving people of their hard earned money by selling

other people’s lands without their consent. Chief Ekwevi’s error lay in ignoring the message in

the inter-planted cassava. He already knew the land was in dispute or he would not have

employed the services of thugs. By ignoring the message in the inter-planted cassava, Chief

Ekwevi brought in an ant infested firewood thereby inviting lizards to a party.

On 28th

September, Chief Titus Nwata of Aguleri described in the Government White

Paper of 1997 as one of Aguleri action men undertook the self imposed task of going to see

172


1995, 17. 173

Christopher Idigo, oral interview cited. 174


1995, 18.

P a g e | 57

Chief Ekwevi.175

He went to the site on that day supposedly with the intent of persuading Chief

Ekwevi to leave Eziagulu land alone so that the tenuous peace between the two communities

would not be destroyed. The thugs beat him mercilessly, bound him hand and foot, and took

him to Chief Ekwevi’s premises. Afterwards, he was allegedly taken to Oviammili shrine where

he would have presumably been sacrificed to the deity if not for the intervention of Chief

Onwuzulike Udemgba, an elder of Umuleri.176

According to the Memorandum submitted by the

Aguleri community to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry, Chief

Onwuzulike Udemgba of Umuleri who happened to be at the Oviammili shrine at the time the

thugs arrived took exception to the idea of sacrificing a man of his age grade to the deity.177

He

threatened to report the thugs to the Police if they went ahead with their plan. Having failed in

their mission, the thugs put the bound man into the booth of the car and drove back to

Technical School Umuleri. They dropped Chief Nwata by the roadside where a policeman

chanced upon him and took him to the police station.178

The Divisional Police Officer (D.P.O)

ordered his men to take Chief Nwata’s statement and referred him to the hospital where he

was admitted.179

He was discharged on the 6th

October, 1995, four days to the end of the

conflict.180

175


1995, 18. 176


1995, 18. 177


1995, 18. 178


1995, 19. 179


1995, 20. 180


1995, 20.

P a g e | 58

Contrary to the belief of the members of the M.O. Nweje led Commission of Inquiry, one

can safely assume that Chief Nwata acted on his own. If he had been working with the elders

and had gone to the site in a representative capacity, there is little doubt that Aguleri people

would have reacted more strongly to his beating. Of course, there is no doubt that they

counted his beating amongst the many crimes the Umuleri committed against them but the

conflict would have probably erupted earlier than it did if he had been representing his people.

Though the actions of Chief Ekwevi and his thugs were condemnable to say the least, Chief

Nwata had no business at the site. If he was as interested in helping to resolve the land dispute

as his actions indicate, he should have worked with other elders of Aguleri. But he chose to go

solo. The result was a thorough beating in the hands of Chief Ekwevi’s thugs.

The beating of Chief Nwata should have made the Divisional Police Officer (D.P.O) realize

that matters had come to a head. He should have made effort on that same day to manage the

situation but he did not. The D.P.O.’s lackadaisical attitude towards the situation was probably

what started the rumour flying around in Aguleri that Chief Ekwevi had bought the D.P.O’s

loyalty.181

Considerably irked by these insinuations, the D.P.O on 29th

September, 1995

complained to Chief Okagbue, an elder of Aguleri that Aguleri people had refused to make a

report at the station and the Police could not act without information.182

Chief Okagbue met

with the elders of Aguleri and passed on the information he had gotten from the D.P.O. The

elders mandated one of their own, Mr. Stephen Ikwunne Oveli to go and make a report at the

181


1995, 20. 182


1995 , 19.

P a g e | 59

police station.183

Aguleri community, however, were not the only ones suspicious of the Police.

Igwe N.U. Okoye of Umuleri in his memo to the Justice Nweje Commission of Inquiry was of the

opinion that the absence of the Divisional Police Officer and the D.C.O between the 28th

and

30th

of September was quite telling given the seriousness of the situation on ground. He saw

this as a proof of the fact that the Police was in league with Aguleri community to exterminate

Umuleri.184

On 30th

September, 1995, the Divisional Police Officer, Otuocha finally realised that the

situation between Aguleri and Umuleri was spinning out of control and proceeded to brief the

Area Commander at Onitsha and the Commissioner of Police, Awka.185

That same day, Mr.

Stephen Oveli was at the police station to make a report on behalf of the Aguleri. The Police

allegedly demanded the sum of eight thousand naira to facilitate the arrest of the labourers

who were working for Chief Ekwevi.186

Mr. Stephen Oveli did not have the said amount, so he

went back to the elders and related the outcome of the meeting to them. This demand for eight

thousand which the Police made of Mr. Stephen Oveli to facilitate the arrest of the labourers

was unnecessary given the volatility of the situation. The youths got to know about the

demands of the Police and while the elders were still deliberating on the matter, youths from

Eziagulu Aguleri went to the site with the intention of stopping the work of the labourers. They

183


1995, 20. 184

Memorandum Submitted by His Royal Highness Igwe N.U. Okoye to the Justice Nweje Commision of Inquiry into

the Disturbances Between The Aguleri and Umuleri Communities, Anambra Local Government Area, 10. 185


8. 186


19.

P a g e | 60

were armed with double barrels, machetes and clubs.187

The minute the youths stepped into

the site, the thugs who were watching from Technical School, Umuleri opened fire on them.

Two youths from Aguleri, Francis Nwabunwanne and Uchenna Ezeduvu died on the spot.188

The

others fled but came back a few hours later in large number. This time, they were well

equipped. The thugs seeing that they were outnumbered fled and Aguleri youths occupied

Technical School Umuleri. Less than two hours later, a tipper carrying armed Umuleri youths

arrived at Technical School Umuleri and the conflict began in earnest. The Police, in the absence

of the D.P.O. claimed that they had no orders to intervene and so did nothing to quench the

flame of conflict while it was young.189

The result was that by the next morning, the conflict

escalated.

It has often been said that youths in most communities are either active change agents or

instruments for destruction. Ochogwu aptly describes youths as energy filled forces most

communities utilize in times of grave societal predicament.190

The idle mind is said to be the

devil’s workshop. The prevailing socio-economic situation of the country has turned youths into

reserve army of unemployed ready for mobilization by anyone who could pay. The thugs Chief

Ekwevi hired were probably youths in need of means of livelihood. Youths of Aguleri and

Umuleri who fought in the conflict of 1995 are people whose skills, energy and potentials could

have been channelled for development of their communities. Idleness breeds frustration and

187



1995, 20. 189

Memorandum Submitted by His Royal Highness Igwe N.U. Okoye to the Justice Nweje Commision of Inquiry into

the Disturbances between the Aguleri and Umuleri Communities, 10. 190

J. P. Ochogwu, “Youth and Conflict in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities for Peace Building” in Africa Peace

and Conflict Journal 3 No. 1 June, (2010): 36.

P a g e | 61

violence.191

If youths of both Aguleri and Umuleri were gainfully employed, they would have

been too busy to foment trouble. The role of youths of Aguleri and Umuleri in the conflict of

1995 confirms Chief Ikem Emenaka’s words that when a young man is unemployed and unable

to fulfill his responsibilities, frustration sets in and he resorts to violence to cover up his

inadequacies.192

But aside from the role the socio-economic situation of the country plays in

the involvement of youths in conflicts, one must also explore the angle of local patriotism as a

motivating factor for youth involvement in conflicts. As Druckman rightly noted, strong, even

extreme, attachment to ethnic, clan or communal identities have appeared to push individuals

or groups to engage in what often seem to be inhumane and improbable acts towards those

perceived to be enemies.193

In view of this, one may safely assume that even when the youths

are gainfully employed, it would be nearly impossible for the youths to look the other way

when people of other communities are dispossessing them of their land.

The conflict of 1995 lasted for ten days. It erupted on 30th

September and ended on 10th

October.194

The magnitude of destruction resulting from the conflict was an indication that

both communities managed to pack much violence into the ten days conflict. Umuleri lost

about a hundred and sixty persons.195

Aguleri lost about sixty persons.196

A lot of buildings were

razed down by fire. Umuleri Town Hall, Our Lady of Victory, Umuleri, St. Gabriel’s Anglican

Church, Umuleri, Aguleri community bank, Aguleri post office and other public and private

191

Christopher Ikem Emeaka, 62 years, Business man, interviewed at Onitsha, 22nd

October, 2012. 192

Christopher Ikem Emeaka, oral interview cited. 193

D. Druckman, Nationalism, “Patriotism and Group Loyalty: A Social Psychological Perspective,” Mershon

International Studies Review, 38 (1994): 44. 194


1995, 1. 195


27. 196

Christopher Idigo, oral interview cited.

P a g e | 62

properties were vandalized, looted or gutted down by fire. Private and public properties

destroyed in both communities ran into millions of naira. Residents of both communities fled to

other communities for refuge. Population displacement also came with several other social

evils. Such vices like alcoholism, rape, stealing and domestic violence were on the increase as

people affected by the conflict sought ways of dealing with their frustrations. Most families

were not united until after the conflict. Unfortunately, some displaced families who lost their

loved ones while fleeing from the conflict zone never saw them alive again.

A Re-Appraisal of Government White Paper on Aguleri-Umuleri Conflict of 1995

On the 28th

October, 1995, eighteen days after the conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri

ended, His Excellency, Col. Mike Attah set up a three man judicial commission of inquiry to look

into the violent clash between Aguleri and Umuleri both in Anambra Local Government.197

The

commission was mandated to inquire into the circumstances that led to the Aguleri-Umuleri

conflict of 1995. They were to ascertain the extent of involvement of persons, body of persons,

and community in the conflict and examine the role played by the Local Government Chairman,

the police at Otuocha, Aguleri Representative Council and Umuleri General Assembly in the

conflict.198

They were also to ascertain the extent of loss of lives and properties and the sources

of arms and ammunition. They were finally expected to apportion blames were necessary and

to make recommendations for peace.199

Members of the commission include Hon. Justice

Moses .O. Nweje (Chairman), Rtd. High Court Judge Anambra State Judiciary, Chief D. C.

197

Government White Paper on the Report of the Aguleri and Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry,

February, 1997, 1. 198


1. 199


1.

P a g e | 63

Odenigbo, Rtd. Permanent Secretary, Mr. S. S. C. Oguagha, Mrs. M. C. Emengo, Chief Legal

Officer, Ministry of Justice and Mr. Eric Uchendu, Director of Personnel, office of Military

Administrator, Government House.200

In order to do a thorough re-appraisal of The

Government White Paper on Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1995, a rundown of the findings and

recommendations of the commission is in order.

The commission in its report noted that the conflict of 1995 had its origin as far back as

there is credible history of the communities.201

They gave a rundown of the communities’

litigations over Otuocha and Agu-Akor lands. They also noted that while the litigations were on,

Umuleri community steadily expanded and built houses and projects over Agu-Akor lands

uninterrupted.202

But after the Supreme Court judgment of 1984, Aguleri community bared

their fangs. They attacked the site of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church Umuleri, removed all

the posters bearing Umuleri and established their market and motor park. Umuleri petitioned

state government and the State Boundary Commission ordered Aguleri to suspend all

development projects on the site but this was rebuffed. This led the commission to draw two

conclusions. The first was that both communities had been nursing grievances against each

other. The second was that Aguleri had been planning to attack Umuleri since December, 1994

and that the deployment of mobile policemen to the location was what put the plan on hold till

Chief Ekwevi’s construction of petrol station gave them a perfect opportunity to strike.203

They

200


1. 201


3. 202


4. 203


4.

P a g e | 64

recommended that Otuocha be constituted into a local government. They also recommended

that Otuocha be expanded on the east to bring the site of Chief Dan Ekwevi‘s filling station

within the urban area. It should also be enlarged on the south to flush with Akor stream to

Onitsha-Adani expressway up to Esisike drinking place. The resultant Otuocha local government

should be divided into twenty-four wards grouped into ward one and ward two.204

The Commission recommended that Igwe Aguleri and Igwe Umuleri move their head

quarters to their respective Enu-Obodo (hinterland) where they should perform their Ovala

festivals and other public and civic engagements.205

They went on to recommend that the

Igwes’ residence should be like any other residence with no royal insignia of any kind displayed.

They also recommended that institutions belonging to either community situated in Otuocha

should drop their community name and adopt only Otuocha as the situ.206

They also

recommended that it should be regarded as an offence punishable by three years

imprisonment for either community to put up a bill board or any sign indicating that Otuocha

belonged to them.

In ascertaining the degree of involvement of persons, the Commission noted that Chief

Mike Edozie was aware of the plan by Aguleri to attack Umuleri and would have done

something to stop it were he not an Aguleri man. They however made no recommendation on

his case. It was also their opinion that Igwe Nelson Okoye of Umuleri had nothing to do with the

attack. They stated that his actions and utterances should be regarded as the actions of one

204


4. 205


5. 206


5.

P a g e | 65

person and not that of the entire community.207

They also noted that none of the contestants

for the throne of Aguleri had anything to do with the conflict of 1995. The Commission noted

that Chief Dan Ekwevi had nothing to do with the conflict of 1995 as he bought his land from

two men from Umuleri and fulfilled all the requirements of Anambra Local Government for

construction of a filling station.208

The Commission tagged Chief Titus Nwata “one of Aguleri

action men” but no recommendation was made on his case.209

They further discovered that

Chief John Metchie, President of Umuleri General Assembly was only guilty of misconstruction

of court pronouncements and that he and his aides at the eruption of the conflict of 1995 made

efforts to save lives and properties of Umuleri people.210

The Commission also noted that the

allegation that Igwe John Nebolisa was an ally of Chief Ekwevi could not be substantiated and

so made no recommendations.211

On the role played by the police in the crisis of 1995, the commission noted that the police

were aware of the attack on Umuleri by Aguleri but chose to do nothing until the last minute.

The Commission concluded that the police “stood by and watched while the burning and

looting were going on.”212

They recommended that the police at Otuocha should be increased

to a sizable number and fully equipped. The Commission noted that Umuleri General Assembly

was suffering from misconstruction of court judgments and orders but were not as violently

207


8. 208


10. 209


11. 210


11. 211


12. 212


8.

P a g e | 66

inclined as their Aguleri neighbours.213

They however stated that Aguleri Representative

Congress hatched the armed conflict of 1995 after several failed attempts to lure Umuleri into

physical combat.214

In ascertaining the extent of damage to lives and properties, the Commission from their

inspection of both communities found that most household and personal properties burnt or

looted were more on Umuleri side. It was their opinion that the damage done to Aguleri

properties were done by her own recruits.215

They therefore recommended that all public

properties and buildings burnt, looted or damaged should be paid for by Aguleri while State

Government with the assistance of Federal Government should bear the cost of repairs on

private properties. On the source of arms and ammunitions, the Commission stated that most

arms used by Aguleri was amassed during her conflict with Obale in Kogi State and the rest

obtained from illegal markets at Onitsha. They recommended that the police trace and

prosecute those in illegal possession of weapons.216

A thorough look at the Government White Paper of 1995 shows that the Commission

had either been compromised or did not do a good investigation into the causes of the conflict

and as a result could not hazard a solution. In the course of tracing the history of the conflict,

the Commission made reference to the destruction of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church,

213

Government White Paper on The Report of The Aguleri and Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Inquiry, 1997,

9. 214


9. 215


15. 216


16.

P a g e | 67

Umuleri by Aguleri.217

They however omitted the very important detail that Christ Apostolic

Church, Aguleri was pulled down and Our Lady of Victory Umuleri erected in its stead. No

reference was also made to the houses of Aguleri people in various stages of completion that

were pulled down by Umuleri youths. This is a clear indication that the Commission was biased.

If they were not, they would have presented facts of the matter as they were.

In some of their controversial decisions, the Commission recommended that Igwe of

Aguleri and Igwe of Umuleri move their respective palaces to their various Enu Obodo which

were outside the controversial Otuocha.218

This recommendation, as Aguleri people pointed

out in their memo to the House of Representatives Committee on Peace and National

Reconciliation and Police Affairs, was clearly at variance with what obtains in other urban areas

all over Nigeria.219

The memo went on to say that Obas, Obis, Emirs when caught up with

urbanization of their area continue to live and perform their civic functions therein.220

Since this

same Government White Paper vindicated the Igwe of Umuleri and the contestants to the

throne of Aguleri, this recommendation can only be perceived as punitive and retrogressive.221

Also, the recommendation of the Commission that the palaces of Igwe of both communities

should not carry any royal insignia is also at variance with what obtains in other communities.

217


4. 218

C. J. Nwanegbo, “Inter-Communal Conflict in South-Eastern Nigeria: A Study of Aguleri-Umuleri Conflicts”

Ikejiani-Clark, Miriam (ED.) Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria, (Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited,

2009), 511. 219









Anam Conflicts of 1999, 18.

P a g e | 68

Their interest in such inconsequential matters is equivalent to chasing shadows instead of

substance. Besides, it is wrong for members of the Commission to use the commission to

demonstrate their reservations on other people.

As the Commission rightly noted, Chief Mike Edozie, the Chairman of Anambra Local

Government in 1995 was indeed aware that a violent storm was brewing between the two

communities. He, as the number one man in the local government was definitely apprised of

the situation. The fact that he was from Aguleri and Umuleri was his maternal home made it

impossible for him to claim ignorance of the situation. It is understandable that given his ties to

both communities, his position as Local Government Chairman was like walking a tight rope.222

Still, he had a responsibility to his people. More importantly, he had a firsthand knowledge of

how quickly conflict can erupt between the two communities. One would have expected a man

who inaugurated Aguleri-Umuleri Peace Committee seven months after he was sworn in as

Local Government Chairman with the aim of achieving permanent peace between the two

communities to act quickly and calm the brewing storm. But he did not. Instead, both he and

his peace committee were busy chasing rats while their houses were on fire. It is hardly

surprising that when the conflict of 1995 erupted, Umuleri people laid the blame on his

doorstep. They accused him of taking sides with Aguleri against his maternal home. They also

accused him of having a fore knowledge of the invasion and of participation in the preparation

and attack on Umuleri.223

They were right. As the Chief Security Officer of the local government,

he should have done his best to bring situation under control. He had the police at his disposal

222

E. Ahanihu,”The Aguleri-Umuleri War of Attrition,” The Guardian Newspaper, May 1, 1999, 12. 223


13.

P a g e | 69

and if necessary could have employed their services in bringing calm to his territory. He

neglected to do this and so failed the two communities. The fact that the Commission which

found him guilty made no recommendation in his case proves that they had been

compromised.

It must also be noted that the statement of the Commission that the actions and

utterances of Igwe Nelson Okoye should be perceived as the actions of one person and not that

of Umuleri community particularly when it was known that he commanded the followership of

only ten percent of Umuleri people224

is an erroneous statement. Igwe Nelson Okoye was the

first and only recognized Igwe of Umuleri. As an Igwe, Nelson Okoye represents his people. His

actions represent that of his community. When he speaks, his utterances are believed to reflect

the thoughts, beliefs and opinions of his people for he is their representative. In Igwe N.U

Okoye’s case, like in Chief Edozie’s case where the recommendations of the Commission would

have been useful, the Commission was decidedly mute.

There is also no sense in the recommendation of the Commission that institutions In

Otuocha urban which bear the name of their parent community should either drop their

community name and take up Otuocha as its situs or relocate to their parent inland town

outside Otuocha. There is absolutely nothing wrong with institutions bearing their community

name with situs as Otuocha.225

There is nothing wrong with Umuleri Town Hall, Otuocha or

Aguleri Post office, Otuocha. Besides, if this recommendation is implemented, it would stifle the

development of Otuocha. What is more, the recommendation of the Commission that Otuocha

224


8. 225




P a g e | 70

be formed into a local government and that Aguleri and Umuleri should not be part of this local

government but should remain in Anambra Local Government is flimsy. There is no way people

of both communities can be sent out of Otuocha as they have their businesses and private

residences there. Assuming their recommendation was feasible, how would government keep

Otuocha out of further encroachment?226

Furthermore, the recommendation of the

Commission that Otuocha be extended to incorporate the site of Chief Dan Ekwevi’s petrol

station shows that they had been compromised. The land in question is very far from Otuocha.

Extending Otuocha to incorporate the construction site would have led to another

confrontation between the two communities.

In conclusion, the report of the Commission is questionable. Their position and

recommendation show that either their position was tied to some unknown pressure to

compromise their stand or that they could not find the real cause of the problem and so could

not proffer the right solutions to it. 227

The Commission’s report rather than solving the problem

deepened it and is not unconnected with the intensity of the destruction of the 1999 conflict.228

The Conflict of 1999

The Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1999 can be aptly described as a massacre. The conflict

was an exception to the thirty one year rule. It came four years after the 1995 conflict and even

Umuoba-Anam was involved in the conflict which was so bloody and destructive. The conflict

lasted for three months and the magnitude of destruction recorded in the conflict of 1999 had

never been seen in the area within the defunct Republic of Biafra since the Nigerian Civil war

226

Nwanegbo, “Inter-Communal Conflict in South-Eastern Nigeria . . . ,” 511. 227


Nwanegbo, “Inter-Communal Conflict in South-Eastern Nigeria . . . ,” 512.

P a g e | 71

ended in 1970.229

While it was estimated that about three hundred people lost their lives in the

conflict of 1995, at least a thousand persons lost their lives in the conflict of 1999.230

This

number excludes the wounded, those unaccounted for and those who died from the residual

effects of the conflicts.231

If the population displacement during the conflict of 1995 was

worrisome, the exodus in 1999 was downright alarming. In 1999, the use of mercenaries and

explosives added yet another dimension to the conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri. The

brutality and savagery employed in the said conflict made the previous armed conflicts

between the two communities seem like dress rehearsal.232

Among the remote causes of this conflict was the dissatisfaction with the outcome of the

conflict of 1995 and the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.233

This was more on

the Umuleri side. Enormous damage was done to their properties during the armed conflict of

1995. Many of their people were still displaced and their hope that Aguleri community would

be asked to make war reparations to them was not actualized.234

It was therefore hardly

surprising that they sought revenge. The inability of government to offer assistance to the

warring communities is tied to the biased Government White Paper Report of the Commission

of Inquiry. If the Commission had done an objective study and made workable

recommendations, government would probably have stepped in, offered assistance where

necessary and dealt decisively with those whose actions and inactions contributed to the

conflict. The incompetence of the Commission laid the foundation for the conflict of 1999.

229

E. Ahanihu, ”The Aguleri-Umuleri War of Attrition . . . ,” 11. 230

Aguleri Welfare Association, “Invasion of Aguleri by the People of Umuleri April 3, 1999,” Letter to the Inspector

General Nigerian Police Force Area 10 Garki, Abuja, 1. 231





P a g e | 72

The crisis of leadership in Umuleri also contributed to the conflict of 1999.235

Igwe N.U.

Okoye died in 1997 at Port-Harcourt where he sought refuge when the conflict of 1995

erupted.236

He was the first king of Umuleri and at his death, a number of wealthy men from

Umuleri wanted the crown. This was not surprising as Umuleri elders were yet to agree on the

criteria an individual must meet before he is recognized as king.237

This situation created a crisis

of leadership in Umuleri. Among the kingship aspirants was Chief Dan Ekwevi, the man whose

decision to build a petrol station set in motion a chain reaction that culminated in the conflict of

1995. The devastation resulting from the conflicts however, made him unpopular with the

elders. In fact, it was alleged that the elders of Umuleri blamed Chief Dan Ekwevi and his

supporters for inciting the conflict of 1995 and held him responsible for damages to properties

in Umuleri.238

Chief Ekwevi and his supporters in turn allegedly accused the elders of

embezzling millions of naira meant for prosecuting the conflict and for mismanagement of the

conflict.239

As a result of this blame factor, between Chief Ekwevi and the elders, Umuleri

community broke into two factions. While one faction supported Chief Ekwevi, the other

faction supported the elders.240

235




Ezeakonobi Ekweonu, 50 years, Traditional Prime Minister, interviewed at Umuleri, November 11, 2012. 237

Ezeakonobi Ekweonu, oral interview cited. 238










P a g e | 73

No king lives forever. The late Igwe N.U. Okoye ruled Umuleri for twenty one years.241

Igwe Okoye, the elders and members of the Igwe’s cabinet should have foreseen the problems

that would arise when their king joined his ancestors. They should have done their utmost to

establish a yardstick for assessing the suitability of kingship aspirants. The fact that his death

left his people floundering in matters of succession is a poor reflection on his administration.

The subsequent division that arose in Umuleri is a natural consequence of the absence of

leadership. Power is one currency that men crave. Some crave it more desperately than others.

When there are no laws of succession, everyone covets the crown for the crown is synonymous

with power.

Umuleri youths supported Chief Ekwevi because their previous attempt at exerting

revenge on Aguleri was thwarted by the Police and two Umuleri youths lost their lives in the

process.242

When the dispute escalated, Chief Ekwevi allegedly invited Obanyeli Ikeli, alias Uche

na egbu ora, a notorious armed robber to become his personal guard and assist him in crushing

his enemies.243

When Obanyeli Ikeli arrived with his men, the crisis in Umuleri supposedly took

another dimension. In one night, four of the most vocal supporters of the elders namely Mr.

Joseph Nnagbo, Mr. Emma Obala, Chief Joseph Ozeh, Ajie of Umuleri and one other man were

allegedly shot dead in their homes.244

Elders who dared to criticize Chief Daniel Ekwevi or

241

Ezeakonobi Ekweonu, oral interview cited. 242

Mr. John Uderike Egwuonwu, 60 years, Paint Manufacturer, interviewed at Umuleri, 31st

October, 2012. 243







P a g e | 74

Obanyeli Ikeli were said to have suffered public humiliation.245

Aguleri community in their

memo to the House of Representatives Committee on Peace and National Reconciliation stated

that Chief Ekwevi, with the help of Obanyeli Ikeli imposed levies on all Umuleri people. The

levies, they claimed, were meant for the procurement of arms with which to invade Aguleri and

avenge the destruction of Umuleri properties in 1995.246

Aguleri community further claimed in

their memo that Chief Ekwevi and his hatchet man supposedly promised Umuleri that a new

dawn had come in Umuleri and that he would make possible that which seemed impossible. He

would annihilate Aguleri.247

The day Umuleri scheduled for the invasion of Aguleri was 2nd

April,

1999, a date fixed for the wake keeping ceremony in honour of former Local Government

Chairman, Chief Mike Edozie.

The total breakdown of law and order in Umuleri as alleged by the Aguleri is true to an

extent. The death of Igwe N.U. Okoye in 1997 less than two years after the conflict of 1995,

created a lot of problems in the conflict ravaged Umuleri. It is equally true that Obanyeli Ikeli, a

notorious criminal from Umuleri fought and died in the conflict of 1999. But it is difficult to

believe that all the people living in Umuleri were levied for the purchase of arms and

ammunitions. In the first place, some elders of Umuleri, as the Aguleri stated in their memo

245




246







P a g e | 75

were unhappy with the level of devastation their people suffered in the conflict of 1999.248

If

this was true, would this same people willingly spend money which should be channelled to the

reconstruction of their properties on the purchase of weapons which would be used in yet

another conflict? But if on the other hand, we are to believe that levies were indeed imposed

on all the people living in Umuleri, we must also admit that the Aguleri were probably not as

ignorant of the planned invasion as they want people to believe. As the people of Umuoba-

Anam rightly noted in their memo, the rate of inter-marriages between the Aguleri and the

Umuleri makes them practically blood relations.249

In the light of this, there is no way

everybody in Umuleri would be levied for the purchase of ammunitions and those related to

the Aguleri would not send words across to their people. If there was any such levy, it is safe to

assume that only a select few knew about it. That is the only way the planned invasion of

Aguleri would have remained a surprise to the Aguleri.

Aguleri community aware of the tension between her and Umuleri but believing that

the tenuous peace between them was still in place continued their preparation for Easter

celebration and for the burial of their son, Chief Mike Edozie. They were ignorant of the fact

that Umuleri had concluded plans to attack them. On 2nd

April 1999, the appointed day for the

supposed annihilation of Aguleri, Umuleri launched a three pronged attack on Aguleri.250

They

248




The Aguleri-Umuleri Crisis (April-July 1999) and The Umuoba-Anam Dilemma: A statement of the Umuoba-

Anam Case, 2. 250




P a g e | 76

had the advantage of surprise and that was why they penetrated the heart of Aguleri easily.

This attack was the immediate cause of the armed conflict of 1999.

On that fateful night, the first group of Umuleri attackers drove more than one

kilometre from the main road and arrived at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Aguleri in two vehicles,

a jeep and a Mercedes Benz.251

Members of this group broke into the church and made holes in

the ceiling of the church with bamboo sticks. In their attempt to torch the church, petrol and

other incendiaries were used but miraculously, the church did not catch fire.252

These arsonists

then went to the sacristy, gathered robes, vestments and other sacred objects, soaked them in

petrol and set them ablaze. The fire burnt out without affecting the building.253

They then made

for the presbytery but the parish priest, Rev. Fr. Peter Nwanekezie alerted by the unusual noise

and movement within the premises escaped through the back door.254

While this operation was

going on, not a single shot was fired so as not to disturb the peace of the village. Obviously, the

plan was for the natives to wake up and find the church in flames.

However, a resident of the village who lives directly opposite the church, Mr. Bernard

Udevi woke up around 2:00am to answer the call of nature. He observed torch lights and fire at

several places in the old church. Consequently, he raised an alarm which attracted not only the

attention of close neighbours but also that of the criminals.255

Realizing that their nefarious

activities had been discovered, the arsonists took the liberty of demonstrating their fire power

251










P a g e | 77

to the terror of the inhabitants of Christian village, Aguleri who fled into the surrounding

bushes in different stages of undress.256

A few minutes later, the arsonists entered their

vehicles. The Mercedes Benz car they came with failed to start and in their hurry to get away,

its passengers abandoned the car, joined those in the Jeep and sped away.257

St. Joseph Catholic Church, Aguleri is situated at Christian village, Aguleri. Christian

village is located at the heart of Aguleri. In the previous conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri,

Christian village has remained untouched. The fact that the Umuleri penetrated the village with

ease indicates that the people were indeed caught unaware. The timing of course was perfect.

At 2:00am, the inhabitants of Christian village who were not at the wake keeping of Chief

Edozie were fast asleep. The night provided a perfect cover for their criminal activities. Mr.

Bernard Udevi’s alarm, however, spoiled their plan.

The second group of Umuleri people invaded Chief Mike Edozie’s premises where

family, friends and in-laws from Bayelsa were observing the wake keep in honour of the late

former Local Government Chairman. The mandate of this group of invaders was presumably to

abduct the corpse of Chief Edozie as he lay in state.258

This group of invaders on getting to Chief

Edozie’s premises opened fire on the mourners. Some of the mourners received gunshot

wounds while some others died on the spot. Among the mourners who received gunshot

wounds was Chukwujekwu Obiora.259

The rest of the mourners ran away to safety. Some others

256



Anam Conflicts of, 21. 257

E. Ahanihu, ”The Aguleri-Umuleri War of Attrition . . .,” 12. 258





P a g e | 78

like Mrs. Ethel Ekeh and Mrs. Winifred Iwoba ran into Chief Edozie’s house where the wife of

the deceased, Mrs. Eunice Edozie remained in her place of confinement with the corpse and

some friends and family.260

They locked the door and remained with her till morning. It is

important to mention here that the widow, her family members and friends who remained with

the corpse did not do so out of bravery or out of some misplaced sense of loyalty to the

deceased. They were simply too scared to brave the dark and risk running into the arms of the

invaders. Though the invaders scattered the mourners, they did not make it into Chief Edozie’s

living room where he lay in state. Aguleri people alerted by the gunshots promptly swung into

action. Some of them who owned guns started firing shots into the air. Being that it was festive

season, fireworks were also available in large quantities and Aguleri people who had it in their

possessions put it to use thus proving that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. This

quick thinking on their part saved their lives.261

Umuleri people in Chief Edozie’s compound

upon hearing what sounded like gunshots so close to them assumed that Aguleri people were

also prepared for a violent confrontation and they beat a hasty retreat.262

Death is considered the inevitable end of all mortals. Among the Igbo, when a man dies at

an old age and (or) lived an accomplished life, his death is often celebrated. For such people,

burial ceremony, the last rite accorded to man, ushers him into the world of the ancestors. For

a man of Chief Mike Edozie’s calibre, nothing short of a befitting burial would do. His marriage

brought forth children and grandchildren who would see to the continuation of his lineage. He

was also a former Local Government Chairman and that in his people’s opinion overrides the

260



Christopher Idigo, oral interview cited severally.

P a g e | 79

fact that his tenure in office was a failure. The people of Umuleri were of a different mindset as

evidenced in their disruption of his wake keep. Their actions, however, were in bad taste. Yes,

Chief Edozie failed as a Local Government Chairman but a number of leaders in this country,

Nigeria have failed in their duties and responsibilities to their people. No one as yet has

attempted to kill them or abduct the corpse of the deceased amongst them. In disrupting Chief

Edozie’s funeral, the people of Umuleri only succeeded in igniting the embers of conflict.

The gunshots and fireworks also drew the attention of the third and last group of

invaders. This group had busied themselves firing sophisticated automatic rifles

indiscriminately, setting ablaze and looting selected Aguleri buildings along Otuocha market

road. Such buildings include Aguleri Community Bank located at PAX house belonging to Mr.

Joe Uka Idigo, Aguleri Post Office, Chief John Mokwe’s house, Madam Monica Ikebudu’s

provision store amongst others.263

Like the group at Chief Edozie’s compound, this set of

invaders also fled when they started hearing gunshots around them.

That same night, Aguleri people took a boat and ferried across the river to inform their

brothers in Enugu Otu and Eziagulu Otu of recent developments. They needed to discuss with

them and make plans for their defence.264

The youths promised to come the next day to give

them support. Those who had arms made them available for the youths. Money was made

available to some people in Aguleri who were mandated to leave early the next morning for

263





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Onitsha to purchase arms.265

The native doctor in charge of fortification of the youths was also

apprised of the situation and the need to fortify Aguleri youths.266

For the people of Aguleri, the attack came as a bolt from the blue. It occurred in the wee

hours of the morning but the people of Aguleri never doubted the identity of their assailants.

Determined not to drown in the treacherous water surrounding them, they utilized all the

resources at their disposal to stay afloat. Their sons who came from different parts of the

country to bury their slain townsman shelled out the funds for the purchase of ammunition. It is

equally clear that by 1999, the business of charm making had been modernised. While it took

days or weeks to assemble the items for making the Ibobo and fortifying the youths in 1964, by

1999, there was already a market for those items. What took weeks to prepare in 1964 could

be done within a few hours in 1999.

However, before the arrival of ammunitions the next day, Umuleri people struck again.

They returned that morning with sophisticated weapons to complete what they started the

previous night. This time, Chief Edozie’s widow, her family members and friends all ran for dear

life abandoning the corpse of the deceased.267

If not for the intervention of Stella Edozie’s

fiancé, prospective son in-law to the deceased, Umuleri people would have probably succeeded

in their mission when they arrived his compound again. He implored his friends and few

relatives of the deceased to assist him in burying the corpse. They locked the gate of Chief

Edozie’s residence and buried the corpse in the grave already dug for him before taking to their

265




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heels.268

This is an indication that even death had failed to offer Chief Edozie respite from the

incessant conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri. As Ebere Ahanihu of Guardian Newspaper

eloquently put it,

while he lived, Edozie as the chairman of the local government

area was held “culpable” by the commission of Inquiry in the

outbreak of September, 30th

1995 violent disturbances

between the two communities. In death, the matter refused to

let him go and followed him to a shallow grave where the

Aguleri people quickly buried his remains before taking to their

heels after the gunmen said to have come from Umuleri came

shooting at the mourners on the night of the wake keeping.269

Meanwhile, Obanyeli Ikeli and some of his people positioned themselves that morning

on the decking of Aguleri Post office. They started showcasing their fire power by shooting at

Aguleri people. A lot of them died on the spot while others were maimed or wounded.270

By

noon, Aguleri people from Eziagulu Otu and Enugu Otu arrived Aguleri town fortified and ready

to do battle. Umuleri people attacked those from Aguleri who went to purchase arms as they

returned across the river but their escorts who were fully armed managed to fend them off.271

The weapons arrived and were distributed to the youths. Aguleri youths made plans and struck.

With that, full scale violence erupted. Both parties were ruthless in their attacks. Military

specification ammunition, locally made explosives as well as other sophisticated and traditional

weapons of violence were used with deadly precision by youths of both communities and the

268


E. Ahanihu,”The Aguleri-Umuleri War of Attrition . . . ,” 11. 270

Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, Oral Interview cited severally. 271


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mercenaries both communities hired.272

Mobile Policemen allegedly formed part of the

mercenaries employed by both communities in the conflict of 1999.273

Aguleri people in their

letter to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Benin Zone 5 claimed that mobile Policemen

from Enugu were part of the mercenaries recruited by Umuleri.274

There may be an element of

truth in this claim as people from Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam claim that the conflict ended

when Aguleri people detonated the locally made explosive, ogbunigwe on Umuleri people and

their supposed Police mercenaries.275

It may also be another attempt on the part of these

communities to malign the police for their delay in putting an end to the conflict.

All forms of extra-judicial killings were adopted in the conflict of 1999. People from

both communities were dragged down from vehicles and hacked to death if their assailant was

someone from the other side.276

A lot of people were kidnapped too. Mr. Ikechukwu Igwah

and two NEPA staff from Aguleri, Mr. P.C Nwobu and Mr. F.O. Obidimma were among the

unfortunate people who were kidnapped.277

While the two NEPA staff were later released,

Ikechukwu Igwah has not been seen since the conflict of 1999. Another consequence of the

conflict of 1999 was the influx of refugees on neighbouring communities. Nsugbe, Igbariam,

Nando, Nteje all bore the brunt of accommodating these people who had fled to them for

security. Among the deceased from Umuleri were Chief Chukwuemeka Obikwesili and his son,

272

John Jideofor Okafor, 55 years, Business man, interviewed at Umuleri, November 1, 2012. 273

Emeka Obidike, 65 yeears, Business man, interviewed at Onitsha, November 4, 2012. 274

Aguleri Community, “Mercenary Operations of Mobile Policemen in the Aguleri, Umuleri and Umuoba-Anam

Disturbances,” Letter to the A.IG. Zone 5, Benin, July 19, 1999, 1. 275

Nwabunwanne Okoye, 69 years, Farmer, interviewed at Umuleri, October 31, 2012. 276

Emeka Obidike, oral interview cited. 277

Hon. Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, “RE: The Two Missing NEPA Staff: The Truth of the Matter,” Letter to

Commissioner of Police, State Headquarters, Awka, May 25, 1999, 1.

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Anthony Obikwesili, Obanyeli Ikeli and Mr. John Okoye.278

In Aguleri, Odikpo Osita, Oranyanwu

Chinweike, Stephen Modiegwu, Obekwe Osita and Amechi Nkemmadi were among the

deceased.279

Public and private properties worth millions of naira were vandalized, looted or

razed down with dynamites. The conflict ended in July, 1999.

The Umuoba-Anam Factor in the Conflict of 1999

Umuoba-Anam prior to the conflict of 1999 had always remained neutral and

unaffected in the conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri. This is because they consider the two

communities as “brothers” and so felt that it was wrong to support one side against the

other.280

Consequently, they provided a buffer zone and sheltered displaced persons from both

sides who fled to them for refuge. It is for this reason that Anambra State government

commended them for their neighbourly role in providing shelter to displaced persons of both

communities who ran to them for refuge during the conflict of 1995.281

However in the conflict

of 1999, Umuoba-Anam deviated from the norm. They joined the conflict between Aguleri and

Umuleri. Their participation in the conflict of 1999 was not because of any malicious desire to

278

Memorandum Submitted to the House of Representatives Committee on the Umuleri-Aguleri-Umuoba-Anam

1999 Crisis by Umuleri Community, 2nd

October, 1999, 6-7. 279

Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, Oral Interview cited severally.

280


Anam Case, 2. 281


10.

P a g e | 84

crush Umuleri but because they considered the conflict a battle for survival.282

Umuleri took the

matter out of their hand by casting the first stone.

People of Umuoba-Anam went to bed on 2nd

April, 1999 unaware that another clash

between Aguleri and Umuleri was imminent. Never in their wildest imagination did they

conceive that there would be conflict between the two communities that night or that

Umuoba-Anam would eventually be dragged into the conflict. Sounds of gunshots in Ameze

Aguleri alerted them of the fact that the two communities were at it again. They swung into

action immediately by closing their borders with Ameze Aguleri and Udeabor Umuleri. The aim

of this was to ensure that Umuoba-Anam was not available to either party for use as a base for

launching attacks on the other party.283

Having secured their territory, Umuoba-Anam believed

that as usual, both communities would confine their aggression to each other but this was not

to be.284

The fact that some of their people who attended the wake keep in honour of the

former Local Government Chairman, Chief Mike Edozie came back safe further strengthened

their belief that as usual the conflict had nothing to do with them.

However, the next morning, Umuoba-Anam got a rude shock from Umuleri. Fully armed

Umuleri youths positioned themselves along Otuocha market road. They were led by Obanyeli

Ikeli alias Uche na egbu ora.285

Obanyeli Ikeli stood on the decking of Aguleri Post Office with

his friend, Anthony Odigbo and from this vantage point, they opened fire on Aguleri people and

their buildings.286

The people of Umuoba-Anam believing that they were not involved in the

282

Ignatius Udealor, 69 years, Herbalist, interviewed at Umuoba-Anam, 15th

September, 2012. 283


Anam Case, 3. 284

The Aguleri-Umuleri Crisis (April-July 1999) And The Umuoba-Anam Dilemma . . . , 4. 285

Bonny Iloegbunam, 56 years, Business man, interviewed at Umuoba-Anam, 23rd

November, 2012. 286

Stephen Ikwunne Oveli, oral interview cited severally.

P a g e | 85

conflict stood in small groups along Otuocha market road and watched the drama playing out in

front of them.287

Most of them as usual, were waiting for the perfect opportunity to join in

looting the properties of the vanquished.288

Unbeknownst to them, Umuleri youths were angry

at the level of devastation their town suffered in the conflict of 1995. They were also aware

that some youths of Umuoba-Anam played a part in looting their properties during the conflict

of 1995.289

That fateful morning, as some people from Umuoba-Anam stood blocking the

entrance of their community while watching with rapt attention as Aguleri people ran for their

lives; Anthony Odigbo opened fire on them.290

Two people from Umuoba-Anam died on the

spot. They were Anija Onwuegbuke who was about forty-four years old at that time and

Aloysius Okwu alias Aloy Nwa John Okwu Chivi. Six others were seriously wounded.291

Obanyeli

Ikeli shouted to Umuoba-Anam people as they fled that this was just a tip of the ice berg. He

told them that after dealing with Aguleri, they would face Umuoba-Anam. He concluded by

telling them that it was “one after the other.”292

The people of Umuoba-Anam took the

wounded to a hospital at Onitsha. A report of the incident was made to Area Police Command,

Onitsha.

The people of Umuoba-Anam obviously had a morbid fascination with blood and death.

It is either that or sheer folly that would prompt anyone in full possession of his senses to stand

and watch bullets flying around while enjoying the screams of the wounded and the dying.

Common sense should have told them that they do not have to be involved in the conflict to

287

Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, oral Interview cited severally. 288

John Uderike Egwuonwu, oral interview cited. 289

Vincent Aniegboke, 66 years, Farmer, interviewed at Umuleri, September 15, 2012. 290

Stephen Ikwunne Oveli, oral interview cited severally. 291

Bonny Iloegbunam, oral interview cited. 292

The Aguleri-Umuleri Crisis (April-July 1999) and the Umuoba-Anam Dilemma . . . , 4.

P a g e | 86

make the acquaintance of a stray bullet. Then again, common sense is not as common as we

think it is.

The elders of Umuoba-Anam on receiving the news of this strange development,

consulted amongst themselves and in accordance with tradition, sent words through Mr. Izuora

Ovokansi to elders of Umuleri who were residing at Udeabor informing them of the attack their

youths unleashed on Umuoba-Anam community.293

By evening of that same day, news of

indiscriminate kidnapping and killing of Umuoba-Anam people by Umuleri youths circulated

Umuoba-Anam and the people were gripped with fear. Prominent among the dead were two

senior Police Officers namely Mr. Charles Nnaemeka, SP Umuoba-Anam and Mr. Peter Udekwe,

CSP of Umueze Anam.294

Mr. Peter Udekwe’s wife, Nwodu was from Mgbede Umuleri. He had

gone to Nneyi Umuleri that fateful afternoon in the company of his wife to condole with his in-

laws on the death of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Ezioba Chiezie.295

He came from Onitsha where he

resided and was oblivious of Umuleri attack on his people that morning.296

While still at the

home of his in-laws, Umuleri youths arrived there, disarmed him and despite his wife’s protest,

they took him to Ama Nneyi (Nneyi public square) where his throat was slit in the presence of

his protesting wife.297

His shell shocked wife swore never to set foot in her village again, went

to her husband’s people and narrated the incident to them.298

Umuoba-Anam was still reeling

from Mrs. Udekwe’s news when word arrived that one of the wounded persons hospitalized in

Onitsha had died. When Charles Nnaemeka, SP Umuoba-Anam was killed by the same Umuleri

293

The Aguleri-Umuleri Crisis (April-July 1999) and the Umuoba-Anam Dilemma . . . , 4. 294


Ignatius Udealor, oral interview cited. 296

Bonny Iloegbunam, oral interview cited. 297


Ignatius Udealor, oral interview cited severally.

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youths, the fear and tension in Umuoba-Anam knew no bounds. The elders of Umuoba-Anam

made efforts to obtain Police protection but it was denied them.299

Few days later, when

Umuoba-Anam did not receive the expected traditional reaction (remorse and offer to make

amends) to their message and the killings continued unabated, the people of Umuoba-Anam

drew the conclusion that the attacks on them were indeed pre-meditated.300

The saying in Igbo land that ogo bu chi onye meaning that one’s in-law is one’s god

testifies to the exalted position of in-laws amongst the Igbo. The Igbo believe that when a

fleeing man runs into the abode of his in-laws, he is entitled to every protection they have to

offer for he has come home. It is lamentable that for Mr. Peter Udekwe, such was not the case.

The murder of Mr. Peter Udekwe was a grievous abomination for one does not deliberately kill

an in-law and make one’s child a widow. That the Umuleri murdered their in-law in cold blood

shows that they fervently believed that all is fair in war and that is a crying shame.

On the 11th

of April, 1999, Umuleri warriors presumably launched a full scale attack on

Umuoba-Anam. Community Secondary School Umuoba-Anam and a lot of private and public

properties belonging to Umuoba-Anam were destroyed.301

After this attack, the people of

Umuoba-Anam realized that the Umuleri through Obanyeli Ikeli would indeed make good their

threat to exterminate them.302

By the time delegates from Umuleri arrived Umuoba-Anam to

plead that what happened was an accident, Umuoba-Anam had suffered too many losses and

so were not convinced that they were not the target.303

Since it is only a tree that remains in

position on hearing the plan to chop it down, the elders of Umuoba-Anam held a meeting to

299




Bonny Iloegbunam, oral interview cited severally. 303

Ignatius Udealor, oral interview cited severally.

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discuss their entrance into the conflict. Well to do members of their community provided funds

for the purchase of ammunition. Their youths were fortified and they joined the conflict.304

Although Umuoba-Anam firmly reiterates that they did not join the conflict on the side of

Aguleri, it is safe to assume that since the two communities had a common enemy, they had

the good sense to realize that pulling their resources and manpower together would be in their

best interest. This is because united, Umuleri would not stand a chance.

304

Bonny Iloegbunam, oral interview cited severally.

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CHAPTER FOUR

SOCIO- ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE AGULERI-UMULERI CONFLICTS

Conflict is not always accompanied by bloodshed. It does not necessarily threaten

peace. However, negative actions (violence) taken to resolve conflicts often threaten peace.305

In Aguleri and Umuleri, negative actions taken to resolve their differences have often destroyed

the negative peace existing between the two communities resulting in the violent conflicts of

1964, 1995 and 1999. It is therefore hardly surprising that conflicts between the two

communities have had negative consequences on both of them.

Economic Impact of the Conflict on Both Communities

Conflict has retarded the development of Aguleri, Umuleri and Otuocha. The Roman

Catholic Mission led by Reverend Fathers, Lutz and Bubendorf was established at Aguleri in

1890.306

The missionaries settled first in Ama Umuala meaning Umuala public square in

Eziagulu Aguleri before relocating to Christian village, Aguleri.307

In 1891, Aguleri community

leased the first portion of Otuocha land to Royal Niger Company Chartered and Limited. In

1898, Umuleri sold the first portion of Otuocha land to the same company. In 1926 and in 1931,

Aguleri community leased some portion of Otuocha land to John Holt and Company Limited and

to C.F.A.O respectively.308

Between 1925 and 1926, Umuleri also gave the Church Missionary

Society land to build a church and school.309

Yet, regardless of this early contact with white

305

A. A. Aja, “Basic Concepts of Conflict,” Miriam Ikejiani-Clark (ED.), Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution in

Nigeria: A Reader, (Ibadan: Spectrum Limited, 2009), 13. 306

F. C. Idigo, Eri Kingdom of an Igbo King from Israel (Lagos: X-Pose Communications, 2001), 164. 307

Stephen Ikwunne Oveli, 83 years, Business man, interviewed at Aguleri, October 31, 2012. 308

R. A. Chinwuba, Legal Essay on the Otuocha Land Case (Enugu: Star Printing and Publishing LTD, 1981), 15. 309


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missionaries, traders and later, colonial authorities, both communities have remained

undeveloped. This is the consequence of the conflicts between the two communities.

The resurgence of the conflict and the destructions resulting from the conflicts between

both communities has also discouraged investment in both communities and in Otuocha. This is

not surprising as conflict prone areas are un-conducive for business and even residency. Most

people who had investments in either community or in Otuocha relocated the business

elsewhere because of the incessant conflicts between the Aguleri and the Umuleri. Commercial

institutions like banks which were not razed down were vandalized. First Bank of Nigeria,

Otuocha was vandalized during the conflict of 1995 and 1999 causing them to close shop for a

few years at Otuocha before setting up office again.310

Anambra-East Local Government

Secretariat situated at Otuocha was temporarily relocated to Igbariam during the conflict of

1999 and if not for the intervention of well placed indigenes of Aguleri and Umuleri, Igbariam

would have become the head quarters of the Anambra East Local Government.311

The conflicts

often leave a lot of residents unemployed. This is because business places of most residents of

both communities were razed down, vandalized or shut down as a result of the conflicts

between the two communities. Most of these residents found it difficult to make ends meet

long after the conflicts.

Social Impact of the Conflicts on Both Communities

Infrastructural facilities that constitute life wires of both communities were also targeted

and destroyed during conflicts between the two communities. This hindered development of

the communities in no small measure. Umuleri Technical School, Girls Secondary School

310

Ralph Igwah, oral interview cited. 311

Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, 62 years, Legal Practitioner, interviewed at Onitsha, October 28, 2012.

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Umuleri, Aguleri Community Bank, Aguleri Post Office, Premier Primary School Aguleri, Our

Lady of Victory Catholic Church Umuleri, Umuleri Town Hall, General Hospital Umuleri amongst

other private and public properties were burnt, pulled down or vandalized in the conflicts

between the two communities. In Aguleri, transformers provided by government to supply

electricity to the town were burnt.312

Among the private properties destroyed in Umuleri during

the conflict of 1995 was the palace of His Royal Highness, Igwe N.U. Okoye, the traditional ruler

of Umuleri.313

The homes of Barrister John Metchie, Mr. John Onochie, Chief Odili Egwuatu, Mr.

Peter Udevi, Miss Theresa Okeke and about a hundred and fifty four other private and public

properties in Umuleri were destroyed during the conflict of 1995.314

In Aguleri, the homes of

Chief George Chiatula, Mr. Titus Nwata, Mr. Godwin Chukwuemeka, and Late Chief Nwankwo’s

Rest House were among the properties destroyed in the conflict of 1995.315

Among the private

and public properties destroyed in Aguleri in the conflict of 1999 were the residences of Chief

Mighty Manafa, Chief J.J. Emesim, Chief Odili Egwuatu’s shopping complex and the Tourist

Garden Hotels.316

Though most of the private and public properties destroyed during the

conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri had been rebuilt, some others have remained as relics of

the poor relations between the two communities.

Aguleri-Umuleri communal conflicts have caused enormous human insecurity. Thousands

of people have lost their lives, been injured, maimed or displaced because of the conflicts

312

Christopher Idigo, 67 years, Traditional Ruler, interviewed at Aguleri, July 15, 2013. 313

Memorandum submitted by Umuleri community to Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of Enquiry, 1995

under the Chairmanship of Hon. Justice M. O. Nweje Set Up by Military Administrator of Anambra State Col. Mike

Attah, 32. 314


32-48. 315


1995, 12. 316

Ralph Igwah, 67 years, Retired Journalist, interviewed at Enugu, December 18, 2012.

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between the two communities. Life was insecure for the people of Aguleri and Umuleri during

conflicts as movement was restricted greatly. People of both communities were abducted on

their way to farm, school or places of work and most of them remain unaccounted for till date.

In their letter to the Commissioner of Police during the conflict of 1995, Aguleri community

alleged that Mr. Augustine Anosike and Nwawuo Nwobu both of Ivite Aguleri were abducted at

Nteje on their way to Aguleri and that Hycient Udeoyibo Nnaluo, a barrow pusher, had not

been seen since he ventured into Umuleri to make a delivery.317

Aguleri community, in the

same letter to the Commissioner of Police, also gave a list of twenty one persons from their

community who had not been seen since the conflict of 1995.318

On the part of Umuleri

community, the conflict of 1995 did not leave them without scars. According to Vincent

Aniegboke, Ikechukwu Okoye, Nwabanne Anaukwu, Francis Igbelina, Chima Obiekwe, Edozie

Ndigwe and several other people from their community were abducted at various places by the

Aguleri and killed during the conflict of 1995.319

People from either community who were

recognized by the youths of the other community at road blocks were dragged out of buses and

cars and killed. During the conflict of 1995, Anaekwunive Ovuebe, Ojadi Uyeme and Joseph

Dibor of Aguleri were allegedly dragged down from buses at Umuatulu Umuleri on their way to

or from Aguleri and had not been seen since then.320

317

Ezebilo Umeadi and Co, “Re: Aguleri-Umuleri Communal Clash: List of Persons involved in the Conspiracy to

Annex Aguleri Lands and in the Killings of Aguleri Indigenes and the Destruction of Aguleri Properties,” Letter to the

Commissioner of Police, S.I.I.B, Awka, January 16, 1996, 3. 318

Ezebuilo Umeadi & Co. “Re: Aguleri-Umuleri Communal Clash . . . ,” 3-4. 319

Vincent Aniegboke, 66 years, Farmer, interviewed at Umuleri, September 15, 2012. 320

Ezebilo Umeadi and Co, “Re: Aguleri-Umuleri Communal Clash . . . ,” 4.

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Extra-judicial killings were prevalent in the conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri. Human

beings created in the image of God were beheaded, dismembered and debased.321

Umuleri

community in their memo to the Aguleri-Umuleri Disturbances Commission of 1995 estimated

that about one hundred and sixty persons from their community lost their lives in the conflict of

1995 and gave a list of forty persons whose corpses they identified.322

They also noted that a

number of persons from their community were unaccounted for. This situation was not peculiar

to Umuleri. It was also the same in Aguleri. Aguleri Welfare Association in their letter to the

Inspector General of Police following the outbreak of the conflict of 1999 estimated that over a

thousand people lost their lives in the conflict.323

According to oral accounts of people from

both communities, the roads and streets in both communities were scenes straight out of

horror movies. They were littered with remains of people who had been killed by bullets,

hacked to death by their assailants or dismembered by explosives. Dried or congealed blood

was seen at every turn.324

The conflicts also orphaned a lot of children. Most of the people killed in the conflicts

between the two communities were youths who belong to the economically active segment of

the society. Some of them were breadwinners and the life blood of their families. Their death

increased the poverty level of their families. The trauma from the violence also created health

problems for survivors. Mr. Egbuche Okorie of Umuleri was said to have died from heart attack

321

K. Fagbemi and O. Nwankwo, “The Aguleri-Umuleri Violence” Hopes Betrayed? A Report on Impunity and State

Sponsored Violence in Nigeria by World Organization against Torture, Geneva and Centre for Law Enforcement and

Education, Lagos, 2002, 58. 322


27-31. 323

Aguleri Welfare Association, “Invasion of Aguleri by the People of Umuleri April 3, 1999,” Letter to the

Inspector-General, Nigerian Police Force, NPF, Area 10, Abuja, April 8, 1999, 1. 324

Vincent Aniegoke, oral interview cited.

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on seeing the wreck that was his home and source of livelihood.325

Mrs. Obekwe from Aguleri

was said to have died of a broken heart following the death of her son, Obekwe Osita in the

conflict of 1999.326

Women of Aguleri and Umuleri were also raped in the conflicts between the

two communities. In fact, people of both communities sexually violated women of the other

side as a means of communicating their hostility to the other side.327

The conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri affected the health system in both

communities tremendously. Prior to the conflict of 1999, Umuleri General Hospital, a grade A

hospital by Anambra State standard of grading and several private hospitals met the health

needs of the people of both communities.328

After the conflict of 1999, Umuleri General

Hospital was badly damaged and is yet to return to its pre-war state. The result is that residents

of both communities rely on private hospitals and traditional doctors or they travel to Onitsha

for medical attention.329

The conflicts also created the problem of food insecurity; food production and

distribution was disrupted during the months of conflict.330

The youths who should have been

involved in production were engaged in the conflict. The security situation in both communities

made farmlands inaccessible. Otuocha market did not function during the period of conflict.

This made food distribution impossible. This situation led to food scarcity as the time and

325

Fagbemi and Nwankwo, “The Aguleri-Umuleri Violence . . . ,” 58. 326

Iveanyi Udevi-Aruevoru, oral interview cited. 327

Fagbemi and Nwankwo, “The Aguleri-Umuleri Violence . . . ,” 63. 328

C. J. Nwanegbo, “Inter-Communal Conflicts in South-Eastern Nigeria: A Study of Aguleri-Umuleri Conflicts”

Miriam Ikejiani-Clark (ED.), Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria: A Reader (Ibadan: Spectrum Books

Limited, 2009), 507. 329


Joseph Egbunike Onwualor, 60 years, Civil Servant, interviewed at Onitsha, 24th

October, 2012.

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energy of the youths which should have been channelled to food production and distribution

was directed to the execution of conflicts.

The conflicts, with particular reference to that of 1995 and 1999 also generated security

problems in both communities. It not only created a lot of blood thirsty young men, it also

provided youths of both communities with a lot of arms. With these weapons, the trigger-

happy youths found pleasure in two professions, armed robbery and political thuggery. Honest

means of earning a living were abandoned by the youths who used the weapons they acquired

during the conflicts to terrorise residents of both communities.

Important ceremonies like traditional marriage ceremonies which usually hold at the

brides’ family house were relocated to other places. The traditional marriage ceremony of

Stella Edozie, the daughter of Late Chief Mike Edozie, the Chairman of Anambra Local

Government in 1995, held at Foodarama Guest House in G.R.A. Onitsha instead of at Chief

Edozie’s compound in Ameze Aguleri.331

Joan Manafa’s traditional marriage also held at

Manason Guest House, Lagos instead of at the Manafa’s family compound, Ameze Aguleri.

Burial ceremonies were put on hold to avoid a repeat of the horrors at Chief Edozie’s funeral.

Impact of Communal Conflicts on Neighbouring Communities

Periods of conflicts are periods of devastation, savagery and carnage.332

Conflicts

between communities usually have negative impact beyond the immediate communities

engaged in them. Conflicts have a broader impact as they cause serious problems in

neighbouring communities and towns. Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts are no exception. We shall

331

Joseph Egbunike Onwualor, oral interview cited. 332

O. Oyediran, (ED.) Nigerian Military Government and Politics Under Military Rule (Lagos: Macmillan Press,

1979), 35

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discuss the impact of Aguleri-Umuleri communal conflicts on neighbouring communities of

Nsugbe, Igbariam, Nteje and Nando.

People from neighbouring communities also suffered loss of lives and properties during

Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts of 1995 and 1999. Nsugbe community lost one of their sons, Mr.

Ekwuebe to Umuleri people during the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict of 1999.333

The deceased was in

Otuocha when the conflict of 1999 erupted. His maternal home was in Umuleri and like

Ikemefuna in Achebe’s legendary book, Things Fall Apart,334

he ran to the people who should

have offered him protection, his ikwu nne and they murdered him in cold blood. His mother’s

people bathed him with acid and left him to die. Some people from Umuoba-Anam who

recognized him as he staggered out of Umuleri took him back to Nsugbe where he died.335

Nsugbe people believe that Umuleri people killed their son to spite Nsugbe for blaming them

for causing the conflict of 1995.336

Whatever their reason, this was a callous act and it was even

more horrible because they had the presence of mind to unleash this kind of wickedness on

Nwa Ada.

People from other communities living in Otuocha lost some of their properties in the

conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri. A bungalow belonging to Mrs. Josephine Okafor of

Awkuzu was destroyed during the conflict of 1995.337

A three storey building belonging to Late

Chief Igweze of Nteje was destroyed in the conflict of 1999.338

Nteje people believe that

Umuleri people burnt the houses of their children in Otuocha because Nteje had expelled

333

Michael Ilobiogua, 74 years, Retired Civil Servant, interviewed at Nsugbe, September 10, 2012. 334

C. Achebe, Things Fall Apart (London: Heinemann, 1958), 43. 335

Michael Ilobiogua, oral interview cited. 336


Ralph Igwah, oral interview cited. 338

Ben Chinweze, 55 years, Business man, interviewed at Onitsha, October 22, 2012.

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Umuleri refugees from amongst them. They did this because Umuleri refugees supposedly

defied their instructions and by so doing endangered the lives of their people by planning and

launching attacks on Aguleri and Umuoba-Anam from Nteje where they were taking refuge.

Aguleri-Umuleri communal conflicts led to population displacements. Neighbouring

communities of Nsugbe, Nando, Nteje and Igbariam were always over stretched with refugee

settlements in times of conflict between the two communities. All public places like schools,

churches, town halls became accommodations for displaced persons.339

Due to the fact that

these communities were overpopulated, there was general breakdown in social system

breeding social ills like stealing. Perhaps, the expulsion of Umuleri refugees for breeching their

agreement was an effort on the part of Nteje community to restore a measure of order to their

community in the face of breakdown of social system.340

The conflicts also led to unprecedented security problems in neighbouring communities.

The war left the belligerents with lots of arms.341

While most of these youths lost their places of

business in the conflicts, some others lost the willingness to make an honest living. The result of

this was that these youths from Aguleri and Umuleri went to the neighbouring communities of

Nsugbe, Nteje, Igbariam and Nando and started making a living with their guns. They terrorized

neighbouring communities for years. Even the state felt their terror.342

The communal conflicts also affected food production and distribution. The Omabala

area is an agricultural area. Otuocha market is the central market in Anambra-East and the

339

C.J.Nwanegbo, Internal Conflict and African Development (An Overview of the Nigerian Situation) (Awka; Pond

Academic Publishers, 2005), 43. 340

Ben Chinweze, oral interview cited. 341


Ben Chinweze, oral interview cited severally.

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most popular Eke market in the area.343

As a result of this, the Otuocha market is well attended

by all the communities in Anambra-East local government. Thus, most traders from Nsugbe,

Nando, Igbariam and even Nteje in Oyi local government area who have farms bring different

economic crops like cassava, garri, pepper, yams, tomatoes, okro for sale at Otuocha market.

During the conflicts between Aguleri and Umuleri, traders could not sell their wares at Otuocha

market and even transport cost to and from those communities increased.344

The fact that

neither production nor distribution of food was possible in the warring communities increased

the pressure of food supply in neighbouring communities and created scarcity of foodstuffs and

an increase in the prices of food.

In the light of the above, it is clear that conflict rather than solving the problem had

complicated it for Aguleri, Umuleri and even their neighbouring communities. With the

devastation that came with the conflicts especially the conflict of 1999, both communities

learnt the hard way that Mahatma Gandhi was right when he said that “an eye for an eye will

only make the whole world blind.”345

343

Christopher Ikem Emenaka, 62 years, Business man, interviewed at Onitsha, October 22, 2012. 344

Christopher Ikem Emenaka, oral interview cited. 345

Mahatma Gandhi, “Quotes about Violence,” www.goodreads.com/quotes/tags/violence, retrieved January 10,

2014.

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CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

Aguleri-Umuleri communal conflicts have lasted for over eight decades. The level of

violence both communities have unleashed on themselves time and again is rooted in the

struggle for land-one of the resources of the environment. Both communities are neighbours as

well as brothers and are both descendants of Eri. The attachment of both communities to land

as the symbol of identity and the equivalence of citizenship as well as the way Aguleri and

Umuleri are situated especially in Otuocha have made conflict between the two communities

inevitable.346

A stranger to Otuocha would find it difficult to tell where Aguleri ends and where

Umuleri begins. It is therefore not surprising that both communities locked horns on several

occasions over lands in the area during the period of study.

This work portrays the changes in weaponry and the dimension of conflict between

Aguleri and Umuleri from 1964 to 1999. Prior to 1964, spears were used in the conflict and

though several people were wounded, only one person lost his life in the conflicts. In 1964

however, the dimension of the conflict changed; guns came into use in the conflict, three

people lost their lives and private properties became targets for destruction. In 1995, the Dane

guns of 1964 were discarded for sophisticated weapons like AK-47, machine guns, pump action

etcetera. With the change in weaponry, hundreds of people lost their lives. Arson became

another aspect of the conflict; public as well as private properties were razed down by fire

giving room to population displacement which was another development that came with the

conflict of 1995.

346


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In 1999, the conflict took another dimension as Umuoba-Anam joined in because their

security in Otuocha was threatened when the Umuleri killed some of their children. Explosives

came into use and mercenaries were also employed by both communities. The savagery and

brutality employed in the conflict was horrifying. In fact, this conflict ended with the use of

Ogbunigwe which Aguleri community allegedly used to exterminate Umuleri and the mobile

policemen who they believed the Umuleri contracted to assist them in the conflict.347

Where

about three hundred persons in Aguleri and Umuleri lost their lives in the conflict of 1995, at

least a thousand persons lost their lives in that of 1999.348

Sadly, some of these people were

visitors who had come to pay their last respect to the deceased former Local Government

Chairman, Chief Mike Edozie.349

Private and public properties worth millions of naira were

vandalized and destroyed.

The work also accesses the place of conflict in the development of Aguleri and Umuleri.

It deduces that conflict between them led to population displacement, discouraged investment

and terminated development in both communities and Otuocha. The vandalization of banks,

small time businesses, hospitals and schools in the area led to the relocation of many

businesses and discouraged investments in the area. Beyond the concerned communities,

neighbouring communities were also affected as most of them were saddled with the

responsibility of accommodating displaced persons and dealing with security problems created

by the conflicts.

347

Nwabunwanne Okoye, 69 years, Farmer, interviewed at Umuleri, October 31, 2012. 348

Aguleri Welfare Association, “Invasion of Aguleri by the People of Umuleri April 3, 1999,” Letter to the Inspector

General Nigerian Police Force Area 10 Garki, Abuja, 1. 349


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The role of the political class and the elites of Aguleri and Umuleri in the conflicts are

condemnable. Instead of being the voice of reason in times of chaos, educated and well placed

members of both communities helped volatile situations to boil over into violent conflicts. They

enlisted the youths in their area of influence to harass or intimidate perceived opponents from

the neighbouring community with disastrous consequences. They provided the funds for the

purchase of weapons used in the conflicts and in some cases; they went as far as motivating

their youths with promises of monetary rewards if they could annihilate the other

community.350

This showy display of patriotism often aggravated the conflicts. It is the opinion

of the researcher that quest for cheap popularity motivated the political class and elites to

aggravate the conflicts and that is indeed regrettable. Late Chief Paul Ndigwe, Chief John

Metchie, Late Igwe N.U. Okoye, Late Chief Mike Edozie, Chief Daniel Ekwevi, amongst others

are well placed people of both communities whose utterances and actions contributed to the

conflicts.

Late Chief Paul Ndigwe of Aguleri contributed to the conflict of 1964 by using his

position as a legislator to influence Chief J.U. Nwodo, the Minister of Local Government to

change the name, Otuocha to Otuocha Aguleri. Both communities by 1964 had already spent

years in litigation over the expanse of land called Otuocha and by using underhanded means to

acquire Otuocha land for Aguleri, Chief Ndigwe set the stage for the conflict. Chief John

Metchie, Igwe N.U Okoye, Chief Mike Edozie were players in the conflict of 1995. Chief John

Metchie misinterpreted the Supreme Court judgement of 1984 in favour of his people, the

Umuleri. Late Igwe N.U. Okoye of Umuleri on his part put forth unguarded utterances and failed

350

Mr. Nonso Oguguo, 50 years, Civil Servant, interviewed at Nando, December 20, 2012.

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to curtail the excesses of his people. As a Local Government Chairman, the inaction of Late

Chief Mike Edozie contributed to the conflict. His ties to Aguleri and Umuleri as well as his

position as the Chief Security Officer of the local government made it impossible for him to be

oblivious of the danger signals which warned of impending conflict. By not making use of the

resources at his disposal in controlling the situation, he failed the people of both communities.

Chief Dan Ekwevi was a major player in the conflict of 1995 and 1999. In 1995, he played two

notable roles in the escalation of conflict: he ignored the message of the inter-planted cassava

which implies in the tradition of both communities that the land he bought from Ikeli Anekwe

was not genuine and then ordered the beating of Chief Titus Nwata, an elder from Aguleri. In

1999, he allegedly masterminded and funded the attack on the Aguleri by the Umuleri.

The fact that the Police at Otuocha have been fingered time and again in the conflicts

between Aguleri and Umuleri is a dent on the image of the Nigerian Police Force. In 1995, the

Police deliberately ignored the danger signals that warned of impending conflicts between

Aguleri and Umuleri. Again, in the conflicts of 1999, they allegedly formed part of the

mercenaries employed by both communities. While the Police may not be guilty of all the

atrocities the people of both communities have accused them of, there is no denying the fact

that there is no smoke without fire. Some members of the Police by their actions have made so

much mockery of their motto, “the Police is your friend”351

that the public are disillusioned. But

before we write off the Police at Otuocha as incompetent, we must ask a few vital questions: is

there a reason why the Police eat the bone that is tied to its neck? Are they properly trained

and equipped to handle the magnitude of conflict often witnessed in their area of jurisdiction?

351

Lagun Akinloye, “Nigeria’s New Inspector General of Police: More of the same?”www.thinkafricapress.com

/search/node/the new inspector general of police: more of the same? Accessed on 12th March, 2012.

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Are they adequately remunerated? Again, the Aguleri and the Umuleri have also been known

to defy the orders and the warnings of the Police given for their own security. Could the tardy

response on the part of the Police be targeted at teaching them a lesson in obedience to those

in authority? For the Nigerian Police stationed at Otuocha to serve and protect with integrity,

and help in conflict prevention and resolution, there has to be a radical reform. The scale of the

reform will have to mirror the scale of institutional decay.352

They must be adequately equipped

by government and trained to react to conflict indicators. They must also endeavour to rid

themselves of the bad apples in their midst.

The attitude of members of the Commission of Inquiry in 1995 and 1999 is unfortunate.

As adjudicators, they had the responsibility of weighing the evidence before them and making

recommendations that would help manage or resolve the conflicts but they did not. This

shoddy attitude of the Commissions of Inquiry is archetypal of Nigerian public office holders

who not only abuse their power but also exploit its potential gains to satisfy their own selfish

cravings. The Government White Paper Report published in 1997 at the end of the Justice M.O.

Nweje led inquiry fell below expectation. The report was biased. Their recommendations leave

one in doubt as to their competence in handling such sensitive issues. The Aguleri and the

Umuleri were in accord in their criticism of the report. Their reasons of course were different.

Findings from this study maintain that the concurrent issue of bribery and corruption amongst

panellists proved inimical to the fairness of this report and this issue of bribery has been the

bane of peace not just in Igbo land but in Nigeria. The Government White Paper Report on the

352

Lagun Akinloye, Nigeria’s New Inspector General of Police . . . .

P a g e | 104

conflict was not unconnected with the intensity of the conflict of 1999.353

The Commission of

Inquiry set up in 1999, also mirrors the tardiness and nonchalance of public office holders. At

the time of this study, which is fifteen years since the inauguration of the Commission, the

Commission is yet to publish its report on the conflict of 1999.

Except for 1999, there is a recurring decimal of conflict in the area of study every thirty

one years. The researcher has investigated the causes, patterns and even casualties in the

conflicts and projections into the future stirs up concern. It also raises a few pertinent questions

such as: will the next thirty one years see Aguleri and Umuleri embroiled in another conflict? If

there is another eruption of conflict between the two communities, would it be over land

acquisition? What other issue apart from land could lead to another conflict in the area of

study? These questions call to mind another crucial matter, has the issue of ownership of

Otuocha land been resolved? Also worrisome is the fact that the elites and political class have

fuelled the eruption of conflicts for their selfish reasons. Except there is a radical change in the

attitude and perception of conflicts, these class of persons will still be indicted in future

conflicts between the two communities. This research serves as a political lens through which

issues on class interests, parochial interest and communal disputes would be further

understood.

Finally, peace is a core Igbo value. If the Aguleri and the Umuleri want to break the jinx

of fighting every thirty one years, their elites and political class should learn to live out the

saying of the Igbo that “an elder does not stay at home while the goat delivers in tethers.” They

353

C.J. Nwanegbo, “Inter-Communal Conflicts in South-Eastern Nigeria: A Study of Aguleri-Umuleri Conflicts”

Miriam Ikejiani-Clark (ED.) Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution In Nigeria: A Reader, (Ibadan: Spectrum Limited,

2009), 512.

P a g e | 105

should learn to douse and not fan to flame the embers of conflict. They should also learn to

choose their praise singers carefully for many are sycophants who feed their ego and fan the

flames of aggression and revenge. Most importantly, in the interest of peace, Aguleri and

Umuleri should maintain the existing status quo in Otuocha in line with the Supreme Court

Judgment of 1984.

P a g e | 106

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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P a g e | 107

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P a g e | 109

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P a g e | 110

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Appendix 1

PART TWO: LIST OF INFORMANTS

NAME OF

INFORMANT

APPROXIMATE

AGE

STATUS OCCUPATION PLACE OF

INTEVIEW

DATE MODE OF

INTERVIEW

1 CHIEF Vincent

Aniegboke

66 Umuleri

Elder

Farmer Umueri 15/9/ 12 Oral

2 Chief Michael

Aniekwensi

65 Aguleri

Elder

Herbalist Eziagulu

Aguleri

15/9/ 12 Oral

3 Mr. David

Atuba

78 Igbariam

Elder

Retired Civil

Servant

Igbariam 29/10/12 Oral

4 Mr. Chike

Chieze

67 Igbariam

Elder

Contractor Igbariam 23/10/12 Oral

5 Hon. Ben

Chinweze

55 Nteje Title

Holder

Business Man Omagba

Phase 2

Onitsha

22/10/12 Oral

6 Mr. John

Uderike

Egwuonwu

60 Umuleri

Elder

Contractor Udeabor

Umueri

30/10/12 Oral

7 Chief

Ezeakonobi

Mike Ekweonu

50 Umuleri

Traditional

Ruler

Umuleri

Traditional

Prime

Minister

Udeabor

Umueri

11/11/12 Written

8 Chief

Christopher

Ikem Emenaka

62 Nando

Elder

Business Man Omagba

Phase 1

Onitsha

22/10/12 Oral

9 HRH Eze

Christopher

63 Aguleri

Traditional

Aguleri

Traditional

Ameze

Aguleri

1/11/12 Oral

P a g e | 117

Idigo Ruler Ruler

10 Chief Ralph

Igwah

67 Aguleri

Cabinet

Chief

Retired

Journalist

New Haven

Enugu

18/12/12 Oral

11 Chief

Emmanuel

Ikem

49 Aguleri

Cabinet

Chief

Business Man Otuocha

Aguleri

1//11/12 Oral

12 Chief Michael

Ilobiogua

74 Nsugbe

Title

Holder

Retired Civil

Servant

Nsugbe 10/9/12 Oral

13 Mr. Bonny

Iloegbunam

56 Umuoba-

Anam Elder

Business Man Umuoba-

Anam

23/11/12 Oral

14 Chief Vincent

Nwasi

76 Umuleri

Title

Holder

Business Man Udeabor

Umueri

23/10/12 Oral

15 Chief

Augustine

Nwasike

65 Nsugbe

Title

Holder

Retired Civil

Servant

Nsugbe 10/9/12 Oral

16 Chief Emeka

Obidike

65 Umuleri

Title

Holder

Business Man Abakpa Enugu 4/11/12 Oral

17 Mr. Nonso

Ogugo

50 Nando

Elder

Civil Servant Nando 20/12/12 Oral

18 Mr. John

Jideovo Okafor

55 Umuleri

Elder

Business Man Udeabor

Umueri

1/11/12 Oral

19 Chief Johnson

Okoye

49 Nteje Title

Holder

Estate Valuer Awada

Onitsha

20/11/12 Oral

20 Mr.

Nwabunwanne

69 Umuleri

Elder

Farmer Umueri 31/10/12 Oral

P a g e | 118

Okoye

21 Mr. Joseph

Egbunike

Onwualor

60 Aguleri

Elder

Civil Servant Omagba

Phase 1

Onitsha

24/10/12 Oral

22 Chief Stephen

Ikwunne Oveli

83 Aguleri

Elder

Business Man Otuocha

Aguleri

31/10/12 Oral

23 Chief Ignatius

Udealor

69 Umuoba-

Anam Elder

Herbalist Umuoba-

Anam

16/9/12 Oral

24 Hon. Barr.

Iveanyi Udevi

62 Counsel for

Aguleri

Legal

Practitioner

Omagba

Phase 1

Onitsha

28/10/12 Written