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 contested Umuocha Avu ancestral land along the Port Harcourt–Owerri Expressway.
Justice Eke granted the order in Suit No. HOW/83/2026. It remains in force pending a ruling on the interlocutory injunction application, scheduled for 22 October 2026.
The defendants are the Imo State Government, the Attorney-General of Imo State, the Imo Housing Corporation, Vertex Estate Limited and Michael Onyekachi.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Barrister Chukwuma Machukwu-Ume (SAN), told the court that the defendants had continued demolishing structures and entering the land even though the matter was already before the court. The court responded by restraining further action on the property until the interlocutory application is determined.
The plaintiffs, members of the Umuocha Avu community in Owerri West Local Government Area, allege unlawful entry onto their ancestral land and the destruction of houses, palm plantations, farmlands and other economic trees. They maintain they are the rightful owners under customary right of occupancy, which they say has neither been lawfully revoked nor accompanied by compensation. They contend that the purported acquisition failed to follow the procedures required under the Land Use Act.
The community is seeking a declaration that the acquisition is unlawful, the nullification of any allocations of portions of the land by the state government and the housing corporation to Vertex Estate Limited and Michael Onyekachi, and an order restoring possession to them.
The matter was adjourned to 22 October 2026 for the ruling on the interlocutory injunction.
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