The Umobor Akaeze community in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State has petitioned the National Assembly, seeking urgent intervention to ensure the enforcement of a Supreme Court judgment which it says affirmed its ownership of ancestral land.
Gatekeepers News reports that the request was contained in Petition No. 693 of 2025 submitted to the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions by Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International on behalf of the community.
The petition is directed against the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police over what the community described as continued attacks on its residents and the threat of a breakdown of law and order in the area.
At the hearing of the petition on Thursday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Petitions, Hon. Kwamoti Bitrus Laori, after listening to the petitioners led by Barrister Okere Nnamdi, adjourned the matter to June 4 to enable proof of service on the respondents.
Speaking with journalists after the session, Nnamdi said the petition was intended to compel the Ebonyi State Government—particularly the State Boundary Committee and the Ivo Local Government Boundary Committee—to implement the Supreme Court ruling on the disputed Uke land.
According to him, no authority has the power to disregard the final judgment of the apex court.
“Nobody has the authority to sit over a decision already taken by the Supreme Court, which has given a final judgment that the land belongs to the people of Uke,” he said.
He explained that the community approached the National Assembly because of its constitutional oversight responsibilities.
“The National Assembly is the people’s parliament. They are the lawmakers who established the Supreme Court through legislation in line with the Constitution. They have committees on judiciary and public petitions, and they have a supervisory role,” he said.
The lawyer also alleged that members of the Umobor community have continued to suffer violent attacks from neighbouring groups, claiming the assailants are allegedly supported by influential political figures.
He added that during the hearing, the committee directed that summons be issued to the Ebonyi State Boundary Committee and the Ivo Local Government Boundary Committee.
“So far, over 41 people from Umobor have been killed, including a pregnant woman, over a land dispute that the Supreme Court has already settled,” he alleged.
The community maintained that it is seeking a peaceful resolution and has consistently relied on lawful channels in its pursuit of justice.
According to the petitioners, the case has passed through several levels of the judicial system—from the Customary Court to the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and finally the Supreme Court—where they said they secured favourable judgments.
A community leader, 78-year-old Innocent Okore, said the dispute has lasted for generations.
“I have been involved in this matter since the time of my forefathers. The people of Umobor are peace-loving. Our occupation is farming, and we train our children through farming. We are not looking for trouble; we just want the authorities to allow justice to prevail,” he said.
Okore noted that the Supreme Court had resolved the dispute about 30 years ago but claimed recent developments, allegedly influenced by powerful individuals on the opposing side, had reignited violence.
He said the community remains deeply troubled by the killings but has chosen to pursue peace rather than retaliation.
“Instead of taking up arms, we have continued to follow the path of peace by going through the courts and eventually petitioning the National Assembly,” he said.
