The High Court of Enugu State, sitting in Enugu, has issued a landmark interlocutory injunction ordering the Nigerian Army and the Honourable Minister for Defence to immediately vacate and remove all military personnel from a parcel of land in dispute within the Mbulu-Owo and Owo Communities of Nkanu East Local Government Area, Enugu State.
The order, delivered by His Lordship, Hon. Justice C. O. Ajah Ph.D., on Tuesday, 20th May 2025, stems from Suit No. E/375/2025, brought by H.R.H. Igwe (Dr) Godwin Okeke Arum and Chief John Okeke Ogbu, representing the Mbulu-Owo and Owo Communities. The defendants in the suit include the Nigerian Army, the Hon. Minister for Defence, the Federal Ministry of Defence, and the Enugu State Government.
The Court’s ruling followed a Motion on Notice for an Interlocutory Injunction filed on 7th April 2025 by the Plaintiffs’ counsel, I. O. Ngene Esq. After hearing submissions from both sides, including Frankline A. Egbo Esq representing the 1st Defendant/Respondent, Justice Ajah ruled that “The Application Succeeds,” granting all reliefs prayed for by the Plaintiffs/Applicants.
Specifically, the order directs the 1st and 2nd Defendants/Respondents to “vacate and remove from the land in dispute truckloads of soldiers and or other military or security personnel they stationed on respect of all that Pieces or parcels of land or any part thereof situated and lying in Mbulu-Owo and Owo Communities in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.”
Furthermore, the Nigerian Army and the Minister for Defence are “hereby restrained from entering, interfering, occupying, laying siege or stopping or continuing with their entry, interference, siege or disturbance of the Plaintiffs/Applicants’ use and peaceable possession of their said ancestral home/land now in dispute, pending the determination of the substantive suit.”
The disputed land is described as sharing boundaries with various communities, including Akpuoga-Nike, Nkwubor-Nike, and Onuogba-Nike Communities in Enugu East LGA, and Amechi-Idodo, Ozuku, Ubahu (Ogonaba), Umuhuali, Nkalagu, and Ama-Azu Communities in Ishielu LGA of Ebonyi State.
The case has been adjourned for pretrial service to 29th September 2025, with a Hearing Notice to be served on the 1st and 2nd Defendants or their counsel. This ruling marks a significant development in the ongoing land dispute, providing temporary relief to the communities while the substantive matter is yet to be determined by the court.
