A co-defendant in the Akwuke community dispute that has dragged through police stations and courts for more than a decade, John Ewoh, has been released from detention, community sources and social posts confirmed today.
The dispute, which centres on allegations over the handling of community development funds and the control of sand-and-gravel revenues between rival factions of Akwuke/Akwuke Uwani communities in Enugu South Local Government Area, has a complex history that stretches back to at least 2009–2010. Violent clashes over resource control — including the 2009/2010 episode that reportedly cost a life and saw homes torched — prompted the formation of joint committees to manage revenues, but disagreements and accusations of corruption soon surfaced.
A decisive turning point came in 2017, when a contract committee (with Bright Ngene serving as secretary) awarded a contractor the right to collect revenues. According to court papers and reporting, N15,750,000 was paid into a corporate account controlled by Ngene and his wife as signatories rather than a designated community account; community leaders complained that the funds were misapplied. That complaint led to police investigations and the eventual arraignment of Ngene, John Ewoh (then-President-General), and the contractor on charges of conspiracy and stealing (case file MEN/225C/2017).
The matter returned to public attention in mid-2024 when a Magistrate’s Court sentenced Bright Ngene and John (Chief) Ewoh to seven years’ imprisonment on counts of conspiracy and stealing related to the N15.75 million, a judgment that legal sources and state protests described as swift and controversial. Supporters of Ngene argued the trial was expedited and politically motivated — allegations that gained traction when the dispute escalated in the months before and after the rerun elections in which Ngene contested and later won the Enugu South Urban State Assembly seat.
Following Ngene’s electoral victory, the case was widely reported to have been “fast-tracked,” and both men spent lengthy periods in detention thereafter. Ngene’s incarceration prompted demonstrations by members of the legal community and residents who claimed his imprisonment hindered the representation of Enugu South Urban constituents. The episode attracted national attention with calls for judicial independence and fair process from civil society and bar groups.
Today’s release of John Ewoh closes one chapter in the dispute but leaves many legal and communal questions unresolved. Social posts announcing Ewoh’s release describe a transfer from custody to freedom, but they do not yet clarify whether his release is on bail, a court order, a presidential or governor-level intervention, or the result of an appeal decision. The sources announcing the release are local community pages and social media accounts; formal court records or a police statement confirming the legal basis for the release were not available at the time of reporting.
Reaction within Akwuke and the wider Enugu South political landscape is likely to be mixed. Supporters of Bright Ngene have consistently maintained that the criminal proceedings were politically motivated and that the legal actions were used to blunt his political fortunes after he won the election. Critics of Ngene and Ewoh, however, point to the 2017 investigation and the 2024 conviction as evidence that community funds were mismanaged and that the courts acted on legitimate complaints from a faction of the town union.
As matters stand, the key unresolved items are (1) the formal reason and legal instrument behind John Ewoh’s release, (2) whether Bright Ngene remains in detention pending appeal or fresh proceedings, and (3) the status of the community’s N15.75 million and any restitution or internal reconciliation mechanisms. News outlets and community monitors will be watching for official court records or statements from the Enugu State Police Command and the Attorney-General’s office to clarify next steps.
(Reporting assembled from local community announcements and contemporaneous reporting of the Akwuke dispute. Sources include community social posts reporting today’s release, and earlier investigative and court-reporting on the origin and prosecution of the case.)
