Residents of Victory Estate, Rumuosi Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State have made a passionate appeal to the state government and the inspector-general of police to intervene and stave off a looming bloodbath following an attempt to dispossess them of their property by alleged land grabbers.
The appeal came on the heels of tension that rose sharply on Friday morning, August 15, 2025, following fresh threats of another invasion by armed men backing the land grabbers.
It was gathered that there had been repeated invasions by the suspected land grabbers identified as Col. Ogwumerum Eke, Lord C. Nwosu, Chief Mike (aka Edo 1), Chima Providence Dike, and others.
Residents allege that the group, in connivance with operatives of the Rivers State Police Command, is deliberately attempting to illegally seize over 4,000 plots of land, destroying fences, buildings, and assaulting property owners.
The invaders are said to parade a customary court judgment that awarded about 100 plots of land to them in Rumuagholu and not Rumuosi.
The true ownership and locations are confirmed by residents who said this is reiterated in the report of the state surveyor general dated 11th June, 2025, marked RSS/129/T2/121 after a geospatial analysis and overlay on the site plan marked as Exhibit A in the said Customary Court judgment.
This, according to them, has no connection to Victory Estate but is being used to intimidate and dispossess lawful owners.
Read also:
- Ibas receives Reps committee, explains approach to restoring peace in Rivers
- Rivers NAWOJ condemns dehumanization of minors in guise of religion
- Ibas appoints Wike’s loyalists as chairmen, members of 8 boards/commissions in Rivers
Eyewitnesses report that the attackers often arrive with suspected but armed cultists under police escort and have allegedly struck at least five times in recent months.
The targeted land, locals say, is historically owned by the Rumuosi people, yet the alleged grabbers hail from a neighbouring community, Rumuagholu.
Afraid of an escalation into violence, the Victory Estate community is calling on the state government and the inspector-general of police to urgently intervene and prevent what they fear to be a “pending bloodbath.”
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command had yet to react to the development as at press time.
