Ekwerekwu Family, Onitsha Sports Club Clash Over Property.

Members of the prestigious Onitsha Sports Club are presently fighting the battle of their lifetime to protect the premium relaxation and recreational facility from those they described as intruders.

The 100-year-old club, founded in 1924, has served the recreational needs of the elites of the Onitsha business community of Anambra State. The facility has been expanded over the years to include a restaurant, events hall and other indoor sports facilities where members unwind and also engage in other social activities.

But the serenity of the place was shattered on August 10, 2024, when a bulldozer moved in there and pulled down structures. By the time the dust settled, the club’s auditorium, the staff quarters and the perimeter fence that stretched down to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Onitsha, were all reduced to rubbles.

A witness said that before the bulldozer came calling, at daytime, some hoodlums invaded the facility around 1.00am and pulled down part of the fence with hammers and other weapons.

A lawyer, Harold Ekwerekwu, took responsibility for the demolition. He claimed that the land where the sports club was built belongs to the Ekwerekwu family, saying that they had come to take possession of their property after the expiration of the lease they entered into with his family.

But members of the club countered Ekwerekwu, saying that his claim was baseless.

They marched to the Anambra State Government House, Awka, the police headquarters and the State House of Assembly, demanding immediate stoppage of further invasion and demolition of the club’s premises by the Ekwerekwu family of Okposieke kindred of Onitsha.

During the protest, President of the club, Chief Daniel Okafor, complained bitterly to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the state Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, and the House of Assembly Speaker, Somtochukwu Udeze, over the action meted on their property by the Ekwerekwus.

The club members alleged that the invaders also looted their property, including aluminium profiles and iron rods while the demolition exercise lasted.

The protesters carried placards bearing various inscriptions such as: “Harold Ekwerekwu, face the law suit you filed at Onitsha High Court and stop self-help,” “Anambra Police Commissioner, enforce high court order against trespassers,” “Onitsha Sports Club is not for sale,” and “We suspect that Anambra Police Command has been compromised,” among others.

A member of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Pius Nweke, who presented their complaint to the Chief of Staff to Soludo, Ernest Ezeajughi, lamented that as they were protesting, the demolition of the club premises was still ongoing, in deviance to a subsisting interim injunction granted by Justice Jude Obiorah, a vacation judge sitting at the state high court, Awka.

Flanked by their President, Okafor, Secretary of BoT, Emeka Anyanetu, and Chris Ajugwe of the club’s legal team, Nweke alleged that they suspected that the Onitsha Police Area Command were compromised to the extent that they drove away vigilante operatives the club invited to stop the demolition.

In addition, they alleged that while the demolition exercise was ongoing, the invaders were busy parcellating the demolished spaces for sale.

Anyanetu said: “This is really ironical for Harold Ekwerekwu to suddenly come out from the blues and start claiming that the premises of the sports club which was built since 1924 as the oldest sports club in the old Eastern Region belongs to Ekwerekwu family and he also followed it up with instant demolition without even approaching the members, claiming that he has a lease document signed by the colonial masters during the time of his forefathers that the land was leased to sports club for an upward of 75 years and that the lease period had since expired.

“In as much as we respect government in power, follow due process, maintain law and order, peace and tranquillity and also explore legal options to the matter, our silence should not be misconstrued as an act of weakness or cowardice, particularly in the face of current security challenges in the country.”

Addressing the protesters, the Chief of Staff commended them for the peaceful manner they conducted themselves and collected their petition for onward transmission to the governor whom he said was at that moment presiding over state executive council meeting at the executive chambers of the Government House.

He promised that the government would definitely study their grievances, invite other parties and find a way of resolving the matter amicably.

At the Police headquarters, the protesters also narrated their grievances to the Commissioner of Police, who after listening to them, assured that he would visit the scene at Onitsha as soon as possible to get firsthand information about the situation.

The Police Area Commander for Onitsha, Gregory Itobore, an assistant commissioner of police, debunked allegation of compromise, explaining that he got wind of the incident when the demolition had already been completed.

There was melodrama at the Onitsha Sports Club, on August 25, as another set of Onitsha indigenes from Umudei village, stormed the place, claiming ownership of the disputed premises.

Chairman, Umudei Development Committee, Emeka Iwuanya, who led about 40 protesters, told newsmen that the location of the sports club and some adjoining portions of land were forest reserves which their forefathers leased to the colonial government in 1910 for 99 years and the lease has expired.

“Ekwerekwu family of Okposieke and Umudei village jointly own the land known as forest reserve. In 1945, the Ekwerekwu family demanded that her own portion of the land be allocated to her and it was granted that the family owns the left wing of Enugu Road and Umudei village owns the right wing which includes the controversial Onitsha Sports Club.

“So, Ekwerekwu family should not lay hand on the sports club premises as it doesn’t belong to them but to us. We got information that Ekwerekwu family is ejecting the club members and demolishing the structures therein and that is why we are here to protest against that,” Iwuanya stated.

As the Umudei family was addressing journalists, suspected thugs swooped on them, tore their placards and brutalised some of them, leading to a free-for-all.

Reacting to the happenings, Ekwerekwu said members of the sports club were squatters who should come to them for negotiation if they want to occupy the place further.

He described the protesters from Umudei also laying claim to the land as hungry people and advised them to come to him for money rather than being biased in the land issue.

He said: “We are not in contention with anybody over the land. No injunction was served us by members of the club or anybody. The members of the sports club are squatters. They are not supposed to be here and if they want to remain, they should come to us for negotiation.”

On the alleged threat by the family to members of the club as their properties were being damaged, he restated that there will be no such thing. Rather the family was only reclaiming its landed property after expiration of the lease granted to them by their forefathers.

“There can’t be bloodshed as speculated in some quarters, we are good people. We still did not touch their recreational facilities and we never touched any of the club members,” Ekwerekwu stated.

Meanwhile, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe has disassociated the kingdom from any activities of land grabbers in Onitsha. Chief of Staff to the monarch and Onitsha Traditional Council, Chief Osita Anionwu, in a disclaimer denied the involvement of the palace in the alleged activities of land grabbers at the sports club.

According to him, the royal father had no knowledge whatsoever of the developments at the sports club neither did he give consent or authority to any individual or group to encroach or destroy any property within the club premises.

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