The Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, HRM Obi (Dr.) Ifechukwude Aninshi Okonjo II, on behalf of the people of Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom, has recorded what community leaders have described as a significant legal victory in the long-running land dispute involving the Esemese Community of Ibusa.
In a ruling delivered on 15 June 2026 in Suit No. A/M/62/2015, the Delta State High Court, presided over by Hon. Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, declined the principal application by the Esemese Community of Ibusa seeking an order for the execution of the judgment arising from the earlier litigation between the parties.
The applicants, through their counsel, Barrister P. U. Lotobi, had sought, among other reliefs, an order permitting the execution of the judgment and the substitution of several deceased parties to the proceedings. While the Court granted the applications relating to the substitution of deceased parties in the Esemese community, it declined the principal relief seeking an order of execution.
The Court also approved the substitution of the late HRM Obi Professor Chukwuka Okonjo with the present Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, HRM Obi (Dr.) Ifechukwude Aninshi Okonjo II, who is represented in the proceedings by Chief Arthur Obi Okafor, SAN.
The ruling marks an important development in a dispute that has its origins in earlier litigation in Suit No. A/28/66.
According to the Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom, concerns had previously arisen over the interpretation of the litigation survey plan associated with the Supreme Court judgment.
The Kingdom maintained that attempts had been made to rely on a survey plan that differed from the original litigation survey relied upon by the Court.
Following applications by the Ogwashi-Uku community before the Supreme Court, the Kingdom states that the Court restored the original litigation survey plan forming part of the earlier proceedings.
In the present proceedings, the High Court further directed that a registered surveyor interpret the litigation survey plan.
Leaders of the Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom have welcomed the ruling, describing it as an important safeguard against what they contend were attempts to extend the earlier judgment beyond the land actually litigated.
Speaking after the ruling, the Chief of Aboh Ogwashi-Uku, Chief Barrister Jude Obidi, described the decision as a landmark development and that the boundary between Ogwashi-Uku and Ibusa remains at the Oboshi River.
According to him, the ruling reinforces the principle that court judgments must be enforced strictly within the boundaries of the land actually determined by the courts and not beyond them.
He further noted that the broader boundary dispute between Ogwashi-Uku and Ibusa remains pending before the Delta State High Court in a separate action instituted by the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku to determine the precise boundary between the two neighbouring communities.
Chief Obidi commended the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku for what he described as his steadfast commitment to protecting the territorial interests of the Kingdom through lawful means and the judicial process.
The latest ruling is expected to have significant implications for future attempts to enforce the earlier judgment pending the final determination of the boundary dispute between both communities.
With this ruling, the claims by Ibusa for the areas around Admiralty University have been thrown into serious doubt.
The Palace of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku through the Chief of Staff to the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, Prince Onyema Okonjo when contacted welcomed the rejection of the request by the Ibusa community by the Delta State High Court in Ogwashi-Uku but also maintained that the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku reserves the right to seek appellate review of any portion of the ruling it wasn’t happy with.
He also cautioned members of the Ibusa community from resorting to self help in using thugs and attempting to enter Ogwashi-Uku land any further to make illegal claims outside any court approved enforcement.
