Chuks Nwokeji
State Chairman
Guild of Newspaper Reporters, Nigerian Union of Journalists.GNR-NUJ)
6/11/25
Imo State Commissioner of Police,
Aboki Danjuma
Sir;
A Petition to Stop Police brutality on Indigenes of Umuezuo Naze Owerri North LGA of Imo State, instigated by Imo Commissioner for Industry, Mines and Solid Minerals, Rt Hon.Ernest Ibejiakor.(Nwandaa)
I, seek your intervention in a matter of great concern on the rising spate of police brutality against the people of Umuezuo Naze, Owerri North LGA, deliberately and craftily instigated by Imo Commissioner for Industry, Mines and Solid minerals, Rt.Hon Ernest Ibejiakor due to their determination to stop him from grabbing Uhu Elu Umuakagu Ancestral Land which has been acquired by the state government for any over riding public interest.
I want to draw your attention to violent actions of Imo State Commissioner of Industry, Mines and Solid Minerals, Hon. Ernest, how he is allegedly using police men to brutalise and intimidate the people of Umuezuo Naze Owerri North LGA of Imo State, including tear gasing our women, due to his desperate moves to craftily parcelate Uhu Elu Umuakaagu, Umuezuo land, he allegedly grabbed through the back door.
Sir; is obvious that Nigeria police does not handle land matters, kindly use your good office to stop calculated acts of brutality against the people of Umuezuo carried by Hon. Ibejiakor and some of his hired police men.
The land inquestion is Uhu Elu, Umuakagu Ancestral Land. He claims it was acquired by Imo State Government during the era of late Sam Mbakwe, a claim he has failed to prove with documented evidence for over eight months.
From findings, Hon. Ernest Ibejiako is allegedly working for Marybas Consultants and Real Estate Developers to allegedly grab Uhu Elu Ancestral Land. There is also allegation in public domain that Marybas gave Hon Ernest Ibejiako fifty Million Naira and a promise of twenty plots of land, if he helps him with government influence to acquire the land.
It is important to note that Marybas came at the said land in November, 2022 with fake papers and were driven away when threatened with legal actions.
Commissioner Ibejiakor came to the community about eight months ago when we were mourning our community leaders, Late Obichere but we told him the Ihu Elu Umuakagu Umuezuo, Naze land has never been acquired by government. What we saw months later was bulldozing of our land.
It's pertinent to state here that Uhu Elu Umuakagu ancestral land is purely a native land and has never been acquired by any government.
It may interest you to know that police officers have always accompanied him to the area and have engaged in violent acts against the community, causing harm and suffering to innocent civilians.
The manner he brutally invades Ihu Elu Umuakagu Umuezuo Naze with trigger happy police men in a desperate move to parcelate lands he allegedly grabbed from the community is alarming and highly condemnable
On several occasions, these trigger happy police men were seen harassing the villagers to enable Hon. Ibejiakor to have his way.Enough of his desperate moves with trigger happy police. Now is the time to stop him from using police harrasing them with gun simply because of the peanuts from the commissioner's pocket.
The police are only acting based on "peanuts" from the commissioner's pocket, rather than upholding the law.
The community is calling on the commissioner of police to take necessary action to prevent this unjust
actions, it undermines the rule of law and the rights of citizens. Is high time to stop police brutality in the area instigated by Hon. Ibejiakor avoid violence, social unrest or loss of lives.
Sir, the people of Umuakagu Umuezuo Naze, deserve justice, protection,against conspiracy of violence by Commissioner Ibejiako and hired police officers working for him in the alleged land grabbing saga to avoid anarchy that may affect human lives.
Is essential for the Commissioner of Police to take urgent action to address this issue and ensure that the rights of the community are protected.
We urgently request your intervention to stop these acts of brutality and ensure that the people of Umuezuo Naze are protected and allowed to live in peace.
As the Commissioner of Police, is your duty to uphold the law and protect the rights of all citizens. I implore you to take immediate action to address this situation.
I have gathered evidence of the incidents, including eyewitness accounts, photographs, and other reports, which I am willing to share with you.
We urge you to launch an investigation into these allegations and take disciplinary action against any police officers found to be involved in these acts of brutality.
The people of Umuezuo Naze deserve to be protected and respected. We trust that you will take this matter seriously and take the necessary steps to ensure their safety.
Sir, I urge you to take urgent action before is too late.
Signed
Chuks Nwokeji