Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Palace of the Obi of Ogwashi‑Ukwu has strongly rejected allegations that the traditional ruler, Obi Ifechukwude Okonjo II, was involved in murder, kidnapping or any form of illegal land dealing, dismissing the accusations as part of a coordinated campaign to obstruct ongoing reforms in the kingdom. In a detailed statement issued on Monday, 18 May 2026, the palace communications directorate said the allegations were neither new nor credible, noting that substantially similar claims had been brought before the Delta State Commission of Inquiry nearly two years ago and were “resoundingly refuted and rubbished”.
The palace said the attacks had intensified following the kingdom’s aggressive legal recovery of large tracts of communal land that had been encroached upon by speculators and private interests. According to the statement, the palace had successfully recovered over 2,800 hectares of illegally alienated land through the courts, a move that had angered individuals who had benefited from earlier irregular land transactions. “This wave of negative publicity, including laughable allegations of kidnapping and murder, is neither spontaneous nor genuine,” the statement read. “It is a coordinated campaign of recycled rubbish being orchestrated by individuals and groups who were principal beneficiaries of corrupt and irregular land transactions carried out over many years.”
The palace insisted that no land belonging to the kingdom had been sold to Chinese nationals or any other foreign interests, and it specifically named activist Victor Ojei, known online as “Wong Box”, as a purveyor of what it called fabricated claims. A criminal charge has already been filed against Ojei over alleged cyber‑stalking and defamation, and the matter is currently before the Federal High Court in Asaba. According to the charge sheet, the activist had posted on Facebook that the Obi illegally sold youth‑empowerment land to a Chinese company and portrayed the monarch as a “land grabber”. The prosecution argues that the land in question had already been acquired by a property development firm with a valid Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Delta State Government.
The palace also denied that any local farmers had been harassed or forcibly evicted. It stated that the Obi had consistently used legal channels to recover lands that had been encroached upon over the years, and that court victories had repeatedly affirmed the monarch’s authority. Among the cases cited were Suit No. O/5/2006, which led to the recovery of about 1,349 hectares of land previously earmarked for a proposed university, and Suit No. O/50/2021, which reaffirmed the Obi’s control over roughly 900 hectares behind the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi‑Ukwu. The palace stressed that the recovered land was being reserved for hospitals, schools, agricultural projects and industrial development, benefiting the wider community.
The ongoing dispute has also drawn attention to the detention of Victor Ojei, who remains in custody at the Ogwashi‑Ukwu Correctional Centre while his bail application is pending. The court has adjourned the matter to 25 May 2026 for further hearing. Meanwhile, some community sources have accused the monarch of using his political influence and security agencies to silence critics, a charge the palace has vehemently rejected. In its statement, the palace reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and the rule of law, urging the public to disregard what it described as sponsored propaganda. “The Obi is currently the claimant in Suit No. O/163/2025, seeking to nullify the unauthorised transfer of communal land to entities connected to a senior government official,” the palace noted. “It is irrational to allege that he sold land to an individual he is actively suing in court.” The palace added that nearly 2,000 indigenes had already received free land allocations under the current administration, with further allocations planned. Traditional rulers in the Niger Delta have long found themselves at the centre of land‑related tensions, but this case has become particularly charged because of the Obi’s high‑profile family connections. He is the younger brother of World Trade Organization Director‑General Ngozi Okonjo‑Iweala, a factor that has intensified media scrutiny. For now, the Obi remains resolute, insisting that his land reforms are a fight against “corrupt and irregular” transactions that have deprived the Ogwashi‑Ukwu people of their ancestral heritage.
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