An Owerri High Court has issued an interim injunction restraining the Imo State Government and four other defendants from further acts of trespass on the disputed Umuocha Avu ancestral land along the Port Harcourt–Owerri Expressway.
The order was granted by Justice Eke in Suit No. HOW/83/2026, pending the determination of an application for interlocutory injunction scheduled for October 22, 2026.
The defendants in the suit include the Imo State Government, the Attorney-General of Imo State, the Imo Housing Corporation, Vertex Estate Limited and Mr. Michael Onyekachi.
The court’s decision followed an application by counsel to the plaintiffs, Chief Chukwuma Machukwu-Ume (SAN), who alleged that the defendants continued demolishing structures and encroaching on the disputed land despite the matter already being before the court.
The plaintiffs, representing the Umuocha Avu community in Owerri West Local Government Area, are challenging what they described as the unlawful acquisition of their ancestral land, alleging the destruction of homes, farmlands, palm plantations and other economic trees.
They insist they remain the rightful owners of the land, arguing that their customary right of occupancy was neither lawfully revoked nor were they compensated as required by law.
The community is asking the court to declare the alleged land acquisition invalid, nullify the allocation of parts of the land to private developers, and order the defendants to vacate and restore possession of the land to the community.
Justice Eke adjourned the matter to October 22, 2026, for ruling on the interlocutory injunction application.
