Breaking News! David Umahi dragged to IGP over alleged threat to life and village land grabbing

Nigeria’s minister of works, Engr. David Umahi has been dragged before the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over allegations of massive land grabbing in a community in Ebonyi state.

In the 6 October, 2025 petition filed on behalf of Njoku Chita family of Umuchima village in Uburu Community of Ohaozara Local Government Area, Ebonyi State by their lawyer, Silas Onu, Esq., it was alleged that after the family made huge sacrifices by relinquishing large Swathes of land for the establishment of David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFHUS), the minister arbitrarily continued appropriating other portions of the family land.

Also alleging threats to life for crying out, Onu, Esq. added: “Our clients are at a loss as they thought that the University is now a federal institution and wondered why a private citizen would be setting up a committee to expand the land of a Federal University by expropriating privately owned lands.”

The full petition reads:

Sir,

PETITION ON THREAT TO THE LIFE OF PRINCE NJOKU BY ENGR. DAVID NWEZE UMAHI (MINISTER OF WORKS, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA) AND MR. ENEKWACHI AKPA (AIDE AND ASSOCIATE OF THE MINISTER OF WORK).

The above subject matter refers.

Our services have been retained by Njoku Chita family of Umuchima village in Uburu Community of Ohaozara Local Government Area, Ebonyi State (hereinafter referred to as ‘our clients’) and we make this Petition at their behest.

Our petition is as follows:

1. Our clients informed us of a phone call conversation that was initiated by Mr. Enekwachi Akpa who is an aide and associate of the Minister of Works on 5^th September 2025 at about 12 noon with Phone number 0803 787 4427. The call was made to Prince Njoku (one of our clients) on his phone number 0813 164 1522, regarding the entire family stance over an expanse of their own land.
2. It has to be established, firstly, that our clients have made huge sacrifices for what was termed “community development” by freely relinquishing many hectares of their indisputable family lands, amongst which is the land where the “David Umahi University of Medical Sciences, Uburu” is built upon.
3. Our clients were cajoled into relinquishing that large expanse of land under the belief that it was their own sacrifice for the development of the community.
4. However, Engr. David Nweze Umahi (the Minister of Works) who is from Umunaga village of Uburu has long before he became the Governor of Ebonyi State, been grabbing lands from helpless and indigent villagers – mostly from Umuchima village. The trend worsened when he became the Governor, as he basically expropriated lands in the name of government, for himself in the community with a threat that all lands belong to government and government could take over any land and pay compensation to whoever refuses to allow him have his way.
5. The University was built on forcefully confiscated lands, a large part of which belongs to our clients and they accepted their fate for the good of the entire community. He went on to also forcefully takeover our clients’ land located behind a place known as Ene Ofor’s compound, where he built his so called “Industrial Cluster” which is his private industry anyway. Furthermore, even after his tenure as Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. Umahi continues to assert the power of a state government in his bid to own the entire community which he has since totally personally surveyed and now appointed a committee for the expansion of the “University land”. Kindly find attached a leaked survey plan covering private properties that he carried out as if he were now the state, marked as annexture 1.
6. Our clients are at a loss as they thought that the University is now a federal institution and wondered why a private citizen would be setting up a committee to expand the land of a Federal University by expropriating privately owned lands.
7. When this committee began its illegal expansion activities, our clients were once again cajoled into surrendering more of their family land for the sake of peace and “development” – which are actually all Engr. Umahi’s private developments, anyway.
8. As if all of our clients’ personal sacrifices were not enough, Engr. Umahi, after indicating in his private survey of other people’s properties wherein he indicated that the “Njoku Chita” lands are “Not part of” in annexture 1, still went on to maliciously design his road project straight through our clients ancestral home where their patriarch and other family members are buried, and insists that the houses therein must be brought down for his road to pass through into his private developments.
9. When our clients refused, the phone call referred to in paragraph 1 of this petition was made to a family member who was on the ground to stop the construction through their land. In the phone call, Minister David Nweze Umahi could be heard saying that he “uses his personal money to develop the community and some people will think that they are wise, there will be consequences”. A copy of the voice recording is enclosed in a flash drive as annexture 2.
10. Our clients understand the phone call to mean that they will be dealt with unless they give up their ancestral home for Umahi’s private developments. This is not an isolated case, as there are many others instances in the community where Umahi’s village youths were deployed to physically attack persons who have legitimately purchased lands in areas that Minister Umahi covets, leading to persistent tension in the community. Our clients believe that the Umunaga youth will only act in such rage with Umahi’s express support and directive. The only reason why people still leave in fear of reacting is that he has overarching control over the state government and other government institutions in the state – which will not last forever.
11. A recent case in which his village youth were deployed and destroyed the properties of private land owners, with threats to kill anyone found in the lands, was abruptly withdrawn from court after a charge was preferred against the criminals. The withdrawal was done on the directive of Minister Umahi and since then, his quest for expropriation has widened.
12. Apparently, no Court or security agency in Ebonyi State can restrain the Minister as they are all under his influence and with our clients resolve to resist the Minister’s latest attempt to forcefully take over their land by running a road through the middle of their ancestral home, this being after they had given him a land through which he can build his road, they may likely face his “consequences”.
13. With his insistence that there will be consequences for our client’s refusal to allow him into their land for his private purpose, our clients now are in fear for their safety in the community and elsewhere, including those who are resident abroad that have been threatened with “deportation” (repatriation) by the Minister over this issue – they are resolved to fight for their right, instead of living as Umahi’s slaves.
14. This has led to the relocation of all our client members out of the community since the phone call of 5^th September 2025 as they aren’t sure of what consequences awaited them and will rather fight alive than dead.
15. The ground work cutting through our clients’ land has already begun in total disregard of their right and ownership and soon, the Minister will take down the buildings thereon and desecrate the graves of those buried in th land.
16. As a federal Minister, our clients are shocked that with all the federal roads needing urgent attention in Ebonyi State, Umahi is more interested in mapping out roads on private village lands for a project that is not of the Federal Government, but as he claimed, being funded by him to develop the community. The question now is, why should anyone embark on a private community development project where the lands of villagers are forcefully annexed with threats and without the consent of the entire community?
17. If this abuse of power is not stopped, today may not be the day its impact will be felt. One day, Umahi will be out of power and what will happen in the community can only be imagined. His activities have created a total sense of fear in the community as any dissent attracts painful retribution from his “boys”.

We know that your office has the legal powers to call the Minister to order regarding his insatiable drive for grabbing private lands in his community using the cover of government and investigate him for the threat he made against our clients, but we are unsure if the will to carry out this lawful duty exist. However, ours is to lay the complaint before lawful authority and hope that the law will prevail, especially against a man who, like Napoleon, is now the now STATE.

Sir, we invite your office to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and can guarantee you that others who are victims of these same actions by Minister Umahi will come out to testify of how he took their lands for no good reason or overriding public purpose – all are for his own private estate development, covering the entire community.

We thank you in anticipation of your swift action and assure you of our clients’ cooperation throughout the investigation.

Sincerely,

SILAS, Joseph Onu, Esq.

Principal Consultant

Cc:

1. His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

President, Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Presidential Villa,

Three Arms Zone,

Abuja – Nigeria.

• The National Security Adviser

Office of the National Security Adviser,

Three Arms Zone,

Abuja – Nigeria.

• The Director General

Department of State Security Services

National Headquarter,

Abuja – Nigeria.