A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Anthony Ani has cautioned against spreading misinformation capable of causing communal tension in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The controversy bothers on a recent court judgment on the status of Ukwuna Autonomous Community and Ngwo in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
An Enugu State High Court, presided over by Justice Cyprian Ogbu Ajah, last week declared the creation of Ukwuna Autonomous Community in Enugu North Local Government Area null and void.
The court clarified that the legal dispute was strictly about due process and not a denial of the existence of Ngwo indigenous groups in the council area.
The suit, marked No. E/642/2024, was instituted by two Ogui-Nike autonomous communities, which challenged the creation of Ukwuna Autonomous Community shortly after it was established in 2023. They argued that the community, which was purportedly carved out from Enugu-Ngwo community, was wrong, insisting that there is no recognised entity as “Enugu-Ngwo community” in Enugu North Local Government Area.
The creation of Ukwuna Autonomous Community was carried out in the twilight of the immediate past Enugu State administration.
Following the development, members of the affected communities, alongside stakeholders in Enugu North Local Government Area, approached the court to challenge the action, maintaining that Enugu Ngwo historically does not belong to Enugu North LGA.
However, controversy deepened after one of the national dailies published a report with a headline suggesting that Ngwo is not a community in Enugu North LGA.
Lead counsel to representatives of Ukwuna Autonomous Community, Anthony Ani (SAN), faulted the headline titled: “Court Voids ‘Ukwuna,’ Confirms Ngwo not Community in Enugu North LGA”.
The senior lawyer, who represents the second set of defendants in the suit — Chukwuka Anyogu & 4 Others vs Attorney-General of Enugu State & Others — said the headline misrepresented the actual position of the court.
He warned that the headline had already triggered misleading narratives on social media, with some individuals allegedly spreading claims that the court declared Ngwo is not recognised as a community in Enugu North LGA.
Ani clarified that Justice C.O. Ajah, PhD, only addressed issues relating to due process in the creation of Ukwuna Autonomous Community and did not rule that Ngwo does not exist as a community or indigenous group.
According to him, the court held that the case was not about land ownership but strictly about whether due process was followed in the creation of Ukwuna Autonomous Community.
He explained that the judgment noted that there has never been any autonomous community legally recognised in Enugu North LGA by the name “Enugu Ngwo Autonomous Community.”
The Senior Advocate, however, stressed that the court also made it clear that Ngwo indigenous groups exist within Enugu North Local Government Area but were never officially recognised under the specific designation of “Enugu Ngwo Autonomous Community.”
Ani warned against attempts to distort the judgment for political or parochial interests, noting that such actions could inflame tensions among indigenous communities in the area.
He urged individuals circulating misleading interpretations of the judgment to desist from actions capable of sowing discord in Enugu North LGA, expressing hope that a proper understanding of the court’s decision would help sustain peace and harmony among the affected communities.
The suit, filed through originating summons, focused strictly on compliance with due process in the creation of Ukwuna Autonomous Community, and not on the existence or otherwise of Ngwo indigenous groups in the local government area.
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