Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Barring any quick intervention, Umualokocha, Amaediaba Nkpa Community in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, and the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Umuahia Diocese, may be headed for a major confrontation over land ownership.
The two parcels of land in question include the famous leprosy colony in Nkpa where the iconic gospel music minister, Harcourt White, died and was buried; and the adjoining parcel of land which the community had earmarked for a housing estate in partnership with the Abia State Government.
Addressing newsmen in Umuahia, President General of Nkpa Central Development Union, Bishop Ugo Nwosu, and the Chairman, Works and Project Committee of the Union, Deacon Charles Madubuike, accused the church of laying false claims to both lands, challenging it to produce evidence of ownership.
They said the community only donated the land to the Government and not to the Methodist Church, asking the church to explain how it came into the property.
The community expressed shock that the Methodist Archbishop of Umuahia Diocese, Archbishop Raphael Opoko, allegedly called them “land grabbers,” an allegation the Archbishop, however, flatly denied.
“We are speaking for the people of Nkpa in response to what the Methodist Church said concerning land grabbing in our community. The people of Nkpa are not into land grabbing. As a matter of fact, we are good people and have supported the mission.
“We’ve accommodated the Methodist Church and gave them land where they built their church. But on the issue of Nkpa leprosy colony, I want it to be on record that Omualokocha Nkpa did not donate any land to the Methodist Church. Rather, we gave our land to the Government,” the PG said.
Displaying a titled document, he said: “This is a document of the land that we gave to the Government. And the purpose of that land is for a colony settlement. And it’s a 99-year lease. It’s remaining six years for that lease to elapse.”
Bishop Nwosu said the community was taken aback when development was about to commence on another land they donated to the Government for a housing estate, and the church came up with a petition claiming ownership of the same land.
“To my greatest surprise, the Methodist Church said they want to build a university on the land that was not given to them. They are strangers. They are not known to us. They wrote a letter claiming that Government donated the land to them but we laughed. How can Government donate our land to you without our knowledge?”
He explained that the leprosy colony and the proposed site for the housing estate are two separate lands, both belonging to Omualokocha community.
“They are two different lands. One was given for the purpose of a colony. The other was given to Abia Estate Development Agency (ABSEDA) for the purpose of estate development.
“When we sent a letter of partnership to the Government for the estate land, the Government had to carry out a survey to really know the owners. After the survey, they discovered that the land belongs to us.
“After that, we went ahead to sign a memorandum of understanding. In the MoU, the Commissioner for Lands signed; the Commissioner for Justice signed; the Director in charge of ABSEDA signed; the land officer signed; and the President-General of Nkpa signed; the Omualokocha Chairman signed. All the necessary stakeholders in the community signed.
“So, when development started, the Methodist Church wrote a petition that we have encroached on their lands. They went to the Commissioner for Lands, and he said there had to be a proper survey again.
“From the survey, we discovered that the Methodists themselves have no documents. They don’t have any documents to show that the colony land was given to them by any Government. Methodists is not a parastatal of Government; Methodists is just a mission.”
The community challenged the church to present any titled document that gave it ownership of the land or steer clear from the site.
“When we asked them to present their papers, they told us that they are agents of colonialism. Which community wants to be colonized by the church in this 2025? If they have any document given to them by the Government that shows that the land belongs to them, we want them to provide that document.”
The PG said that after the survey was released Archbishop Opoko was not pleased with it, and he wrote another petition against the community.
“After receiving another petition from the church, the Commissioner for Lands said we should hold on. So, we held on. The Commissioner for Lands asked the Surveyor General of the State, and the Methodist Church to get their own surveyor, which they did.
“The Surveyor General went back with all the documents that they used in acquiring the leprosy colony. After the survey search, they found out that the land is different from the colony land, and that it is purely our land.”
A letter from the Commissioner for Lands, Mr. Chaka Chukwumerije, dated April 24, 2025, authorised the community to pursue their estate development, declaring that both lands are not the same.
A copy of the letter sighted by our Correspondent read in part: “We have concluded our review of the land earmarked by the Umualokocha community for a housing project and the land known as leprosy colony. The decision reached is that both lands are separate and are not in conflict with each other, and as such the Umualokocha community may develop its land as it is not within the leprosy colony.”
The PG then queried: “Who are the land grabbers? Is it the leprosy community or the Methodist Church? So, we want the world to know our story. We are a God-fearing community. We are peaceful people and we believe in peaceful co-existence.”
He appealed to the Methodist Church not to ignite avoidable crisis between the community and the church.
“Some people in the community may not have the same temperament as the leaders of the union may have so that they don’t start up chaos in the community.”
The PG urged willing investors to disregard any claims by the church over ownership of the land, insisting that the land is not in contention.
“We want anyone who wants to invest in Umualokocha heritage estate to go ahead and invest. The Government has not asked us to stop. The Government of Dr. Alex Otti is not into religious politics. The Government is into development and we appreciate that.”
They commended the Commissioner for Lands and his Justice counterpart, who they said did not allow religious sentiments to influence their position over the matter.
“The Commissioner for Lands is a member of the Methodist Church but he’s not transactional. He didn’t play religious politics. The Commissioner for Justice is a member of Methodist. He didn’t play religious politics. They both signed this document.
“We want to use this opportunity to plead with the Methodist Church to please allow us to see development in our community. We want to develop our community.”
Contributing, Deacon Madubuike said the community never ceded any portion of their land to the Methodist Church.
He said the community only leased the leprosy colony to the Government for 100 years which would expire in five years’ time.
“So, if the Methodist Church has interest in that portion of land, the right thing they should do is to approach Umualokocha to indicate interest.
“If they go to the right channel, there is nothing that is impossible. But for now, it’s on record that everything we are doing concerning the estate has the backing of the Government.
“The documents are evident. Everything is very clear and the documents are there for anybody to verify. We are peace-loving people and we want to continue like that. What we will not like is subtle blackmail by anybody no matter how highly placed. We will not take that!
“Methodist Church should produce any document that gave them ownership of the land because Government cannot enter into any negotiation with anybody and it will not be documented. If Government gave or sold the land to them, let them give us the documents.”
When contacted, Archbishop Opoko said he would not want to publicly join issues with the community on a legal matter.
He denied calling the community land grabbers but urged them “to come to equity with clean hands.”
“We don’t go to the press to discuss legal issues. I never called anybody land grabber. Anybody who is going to equity should go with clean hands.”
Archbishop Opoko, however, queried why the community was receiving tenancy payment from the church if it was denying donating the land to the church.
“If they said they never gave the land to us, why are they receiving tenancy payment from the church all these years?”
