Tension has reached boiling point in Obeagu Awkunanaw community in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, as residents accuse a senior police officer, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Margaret Ochalla, of colluding with land grabbers to dispossess them of their ancestral land.
In a strongly worded petition addressed to the Inspector General of Police and another to the Police Service Commission, the community, through its representatives, called for the immediate removal of AIG Ochalla from her current posting at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Lagos. They also demanded that all investigations relating to the disputed land be transferred to a neutral location outside her control.
According to the petitioners, the crisis is rooted in a controversial land dispute involving a private company, Private Estates International West Africa (PEIWA), whose alter egos are named as Kingsley Eze and Gozie Okoye.
The community described PEIWA as “a group of desperate fellows” that used their connections to illegally seize and commercialize vast expanses of their ancestral land under the guise of developing the Enugu Lifestyle and Golf City.
“The story of the so-called Enugu Lifestyle and Golf City whose alter ego is one Kingsley Eze, and more recently, Gozie Okoye, is a vexed one,” the petition reads. “Our ownership of this land in question is not in doubt, as none of the dramatis personae is from our community, neither did any of their parents nor ancestors ever own any part thereof.”
They alleged that Eze and his associates forged documents purporting a land acquisition by the administration of Chief Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo—a claim the former governor has publicly denied. The alleged forgery is now the subject of Charge No. FHC/EN/CR/84/2025 – IGP V. Kingsley Eze & 2 ORS at the Federal High Court in Enugu, alongside pending civil suits at the Enugu State High Court.
The community claims AIG Ochalla, who has had a long-standing relationship with the land developers, has been partial and oppressive in her handling of the matter.
“She has pitched her tent with them and has been giving her unalloyed support since when she was a Deputy Commissioner of Police in FCID, Abuja,” they wrote. “Every police officer is an ambassador of the Nigeria Police Force and must act in the best interest of the public rather than in protection of the selfish interest of a few land grabbers.”
Residents say the situation deteriorated dramatically after Ochalla’s recent posting to Lagos. “Since Friday, 16/05/2025, AIG Ochalla unleashed a team of police officers from FCID Annex, Lagos against our people. They are kept in an expensive hotel, fed, and have been accompanying officers of PEIWA on daily basis as they patrol our community,” the letter revealed.
The petitioners claim that several community members have been arbitrarily arrested, detained at Uwani Police Station in Enugu, and charged to court on what they describe as “baseless” grounds. One high-profile incident involved the arrest of Rt. Hon. Paul Okechukwu Ogbe, a Senior Special Assistant to the Enugu State Governor.
“He was detained at Uwani Police Station and was about being flown to Lagos on 22/05/2025 when he collapsed and was rushed to hospital,” the petition noted. “Why take him to Lagos if there is no sinister purpose to keep him away, at a place where it will be difficult to get sureties?”
The community says it fears a coordinated plot to intimidate and silence them using the machinery of state.
“We are also wondering how long AIG Ochalla will be used by these land grabbers against us. Now she is in charge at FCID, Lagos, it is time to release a floodgate of criminal complaints, and members of our community will apparently know no peace henceforth,” the statement said.
They urged the Inspector General of Police to urgently transfer the case to Enugu or any other neutral zone and to order AIG Ochalla to recuse herself from the matter.
“She should be reminded that as a police officer, she has to be impartial in performing her duty, and should not let her personal relationships influence her sense of duty. We beg you to save the Nigeria Police from the dent AIG Margaret Ochalla wants to rub on your flagship and respectable institution.”
In a separate Public Notice, the community also addressed a letter dated 13 May 2025, allegedly issued by Gozie Okoye, now claiming to be Managing Director of PEIWA, warning against unauthorized construction within the disputed estate. The community dismissed it as an illegal and misleading document.
“Although the said letter was not particularly addressed to anyone, its contents are laced with bogus claims, distortion of facts, wishful thinking and threat,” they said.
“We must state clearly and categorically that we are the bonafide owners by inheritance of all that parcels of land called Agbana, Ugwuorie, Onususu, Akparata, Isi Oke, Ofia Ogonogo, Ofia Aru, Ururo, Orji, Ngene Uchoo, Ngene Ogwe, Iduru and Ihu Odeje among others.”
They accused Okoye of abusing his position as a former bank manager to facilitate a N2 billion loan for PEIWA using the disputed land as collateral without due process.
“Is it not an extreme form of corruption that Gozie Okoye, for his selfish interest, applied for a loan for his company and used public deposits to feather his nest?” they queried, promising to call for a probe by law enforcement agencies.
They also cited the 2024 report of the Enugu State House of Assembly Committee on Land Disputes, which sided with their community, as further validation of their claim.
The people of Obeagu Awkunanaw are now calling on the highest authorities in the Nigeria Police Force and Police Service Commission to act swiftly and decisively to prevent further erosion of public confidence in the police and to forestall a potential breakdown of law and order.
