By NewsCritic reporters
The Umudiawa Autonomous community in Ohuhu Umuahia North local government area, LGA, has appealed to the Abia State government to wade into the boundary crisis with the Umuoma community in Ihitte Uboma LGA of Imo State, with a view to hasten the National Boundary Commission to come and demarcate their boundaries based on the Supreme Court judgement of 1958.
In an interview with journalists the leadership of Umudiawa Ofeiyi Autonomous Community and their traditional ruler, HRM Eze Nnamdi Ofoegbu, Chairman Ohuhu Council of Traditional rulers, said that the community had petitioned the National Boundary Commission to come and demarcate its boundaries with their Imo state neighbours to avoid further skirmishes and halt them from trespassing on their ancestral lands.
Chief Reuben Igbokwe and High Chief Sir Monday Nwokocha, Village Head and President General respectively, accused the traditional ruler of Umuoma community, HRH Eze M.O Onyemukwuru, the Oma 1 of Umuoma Ihitte Uboma LGA of trying to distort the judgement of the Supreme Court.
They berated the Umuoma traditional ruler for misleading his people to disobey the Supreme Court judgement delivered by His Lordship the Chief Justice of the federation, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola (late), in favour of Umudiawa Ofeiyi people in respect of the Umuhu Ofemiri ancestral lands.
The community leaders disclosed that in 2019, the Umuoma community led by their traditional ruler HRH Eze M.O Onyemukuru also sued the Umudiawa Ofeiyi community at the federal High Court Owerri, seeking to upturn the 1958 judgement of the Supreme Court. The arguments they advanced was that the Supreme Court Judgement in favour of Umudiawa community in Ohuhu was a colonial judgement which they did not welcome.
However, “the federal high court Owerri dismissed their suit as the judge held that there was no such thing as colonial judgement, they said. The leadership of Umudiawa community stressed that despite losing the case at both the Supreme Court and the high court, the Umuoma people and their traditional ruler are trespassing on the Umuhu Ofemiri ancestral land and need to be cautioned not to take the laws into their hands.
They alleged that the Umuoma community recently went to the said Umuhu Ofemiri land to destroy a signpost erected by a contractor working on his site, adding that this means that they do not have regard for the Supreme Court judgement.
Chief Reuben Igbokwe and High Chief Monday Nwokocha said they are appealing to Abia state governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu to intervene and help them to facilitate the coming of the National Boundary Commission to demarcate the boundaries based on the supreme court judgement.
