Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Justice Veronica Ajogwu of the Enugu State High Court has adjourned the high‑stakes N14.5 billion demolition suit filed against a former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, and his co‑defendant to June 3, 2026. The suit was instituted by 25 members of the Nkomoro Onuogba community in Enugu East Local Government Area, who are seeking massive compensation for the alleged destruction of their houses, the loss of seven lives, and the looting of personal property. When the matter was called for mention, counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr. Peter Igwe, told the court that they had been served with processes by the defence that very morning and needed time to respond adequately. Although Igwe noted that the defendants had not paid the default fee for filing out of time, he prayed the court for an extension. Defence lawyer Mr. Benjamin Nwobodo confirmed that the time sought would enable them to regularise their processes. Justice Ajogwu then adjourned the matter until June 3 for a continuation of hearing. The defence counsel later told journalists that the dispute had already been decided in 2013 by Justice Eno Oluedo, who ruled that the land belonged to the late Titus Alinta, from whom Nnaji purchased it. “If judgment is given to me over my property, it’s my right to take it or demolish it. It was demolished by the court and nothing else,” Nwobodo stated, dismissing the N14.5 billion claim as “a case without root under the law.”
Court documents reveal the staggering scale of the plaintiffs’ claims. The Nkomoro Onuogba community is seeking compensation for 11 two‑storey buildings, six three‑storey buildings, 93 duplexes and 170 bungalows, each valued at an average cost of N50 million. In addition, they are asking for N7 billion in compensation for seven deceased members whom they allege were killed during the demolition, at the rate of N1 billion per deceased person. Another N3.4 billion is sought for the alleged looting of personal property, including water coolers, mattresses, 20 motorcycles, televisions, sewing machines, cooking pots, air conditioners and beds. The community also wants a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further interference with their ancestral home and a declaration that they are the rightful owners of the land which they claim to have inherited from their forebears and occupied for generations.
The land in question, approximately 103 hectares, has been a source of contention for decades. The Nkomoro Onuogba community traces its claim to the 1950s, when they were invited from Ezza in Ebonyi State as warriors to help the neighbouring Onuogba Nike community defeat the Nkwubor people. According to community representatives, after that victory, the Onuogba Nike people settled their forefathers on the land through a written agreement and an oath‑taking ceremony. A legal practitioner for the Nkomoro community, Barr. Jessie‑Daniels Onuigbo, explained that the dispute dates back to 1974, when the Onuogba Nike community filed a suit claiming ownership of the land. The court gave judgment in favour of Onuogba Nike, and the Court of Appeal upheld that decision, but the Nkomoro community appealed to the Supreme Court. Onuigbo stated that the appeal is still pending at the Supreme Court, and that Nnaji, who allegedly bought the land from the late Titus Alinta, “has been trying to take possession of the land by force.” She also noted that the community was not represented in court when Nnaji obtained a judgment to demolish their homes.
But Professor Nnaji has forcefully rejected the community’s narrative. Through his lawyer, Mr. Benjamin Nwobodo, and his surveyor, Mr. Okwuchukwu Nnaji, the former minister insists that the land was lawfully acquired. He explained that Titus Alinta purchased the land from the Onuogba Nike community in 1977 after the Onuogba Nike community won the original court case. Alinta obtained a Certificate of Occupancy in 1987, and in 2000 he transferred ownership to Nnaji, who later bought the land in 2005. When Alinta attempted to farm on the land, the Nkomoro community resisted, leading to a suit that Alinta won at the Enugu State High Court in 2004 and again at the Court of Appeal in 2005. Nnaji argued that the Nkomoro community later filed an appeal for a stay of execution, but the court found no merit in their application and dismissed it in 2011. He maintains that the demolitions of 2013, and the more recent ones, were carried out in compliance with lawful court orders, not as a personal act of land grabbing.
The dispute has not been without serious allegations of violence. In a news conference in 2024, Rev. Stephen Prosper Itumo, a representative of the Nkomoro community, claimed that when the execution order was first carried out in 2013, “they demolished 264 buildings and raped our women.” Rev. Itumo also alleged that when Nnaji later conducted further demolitions, he “stormed the community with armed security personnel numbering over 100 and eight bulldozers pulling down their houses and leveling their farmlands.” Nnaji’s camp has repeatedly denied these allegations, insisting that all actions were carried out by court bailiffs under the authority of final and binding court orders.
This week’s adjournment follows a series of legal battles for the 70‑year‑old former minister and accomplished engineer. Nnaji, who also served as Minister of Science and Technology and chaired the Presidential Task Force on Power, led the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector in 2013. He is the founder of Geometric Power Limited and a recipient of three national honours: Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), and the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM). Yet, his illustrious career is now overshadowed by a court battle that has pitted a small community against one of Nigeria’s most famous technocrats. As the case headed to the Supreme Court, the Enugu State Police Command had earlier been forced to take inventory of demolished structures following petitions from the Nkomoro community. Tensions remain high, and with the astronomical N14.5 billion claim now on the docket, the eyes of the nation are on Justice Ajogwu’s court. At stake is not only the ownership of 103 hectares of land, but also the public’s perception of a man who once helped keep Nigeria’s lights on.
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