The Ovwere Family of Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State has made clarification to the piece of land under dispute along Ekpan River between the founder of Christ Missionaries Crusaders Church, Archbishop God-do-Well Avwomakpa and the Managing Director of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), Chief Kestin Pondi.
The Ovwere Family, which is the landlord to Avwomakpa and other land owners in the areas opposite NNPC Housing Complex Main Gate in Ekpan community, said the disputed parcel of land was lawfully acquired from the family.
They faulted the claims of the popular cleric that the land belongs to the church, adding that the allegation of unlawful trespass and illegal acquisition by Chief Pondi were false and should be disregarded.
It appealed to the state’s Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and former Niger Delta freedom fighter, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo as well as members of the public to ignore Avwomakpa’s calls for help.
The family further described the calls by Avwomakpa for intervention by Oborevwori, Ekpemupolo and the public as an “emotional blackmail by Avwomakpa, who is the oppressor in the unfolding drama.”
The Ovwere Family said it sold land to Avwomakpa in the same manner it sold different land to Pondi at opposite NNPC Housing Complex Main Gate, in Ekpan, Uvwie LGA.
The Ovwere Family accused the cleric of exhibiting unbridled expansionist tendencies by acquiring and surveying the land he did not purchase abinitio in a desperate selfish bid to gain all lands in the neighbourhood of his Church.
Avwomakpa had in a save-my-soul message to message to Oborevwori and Ekpemupolo accused Pondi of alleged tresspass and illegal acquisition of a portion of land belonging to his Church located opposite NNPC Housing Complex Main Gate, Ekpan.
The family, at an elaborate press conference in Warri, however, told newsmen that Avwomakpa lied to the public by his claims.
The duo of Daniel Orogho and William Ovwurie, spoke on behalf of their family at the media encounter.
The representatives of the community said Avwomakpa actually bought 2.024 acres of land in 2,000, adding that he later went ahead to forge and manipulatedeeds of conveyance and survey plans to lay claims to the ownership of 4.304 Acres within the vicinity of his Church.
According to them, as at now, Avwomakpa has illegally acquired 2.280 Acres in addition to 2,024 Acres marked as Area A which he legitimately got from the family in 2000.
They said the land legitimately acquired by Pondi from the family was among those Avwomakpa illegally claiming through fraudulent deeds and survey.
The family which backed its claims with Deeds of conveyance, survey plans and relevant court documents, said it was conscious of the nefarious antics of Avwomakpa, in which the cleric has illegally acquired and surveyed its land marked Areas B, C and D within the environment of his Church.
The family accused Avwomakpa of forging the signatures of deceased leaders of the family to generate fresh deeds of conveyance in 2007 to justify the acquisition of the fraudulent 2.280 Acres, in Area B, which the family neither offered to him for sale nor sold to him.
“He said he bought Area A and B the same year. If he is right that he bought the two the same year, how come about that he registered Area A in the year 2,000 and he claimed to have bought
Areas A and B together again in 2007 and prepared a fresh survey plan , by forging the signatures of some deceased members of the family, especially Madam Doris Okoro Ovwere, Chief Gift Edjewhro and Mr. Jackson Ovwurie.
The family said one Joel Afoke that Avwomakpa allegedly used as witness in the controversial deeds of 2007 was “fake, strange and unknown to Ovwere family. Joel Afoke can best exist in the imagination of ArchbishopGod-do-Well Avwomakpa as an impostor and a fugitive.”
“When we discovered that Avwomakpa was confisticating our land and that , he has positioned to fraudulently seize Areas C and D of our land heritage, by virtue of his fraudulent deeds of December 24th, 2007, which he manufactured when he discovered that our parents who signed for him in 2,000 are all dead, we dragged him and three others to an Effurun High Court, in a suit numbered EHC 228/2014 for succour.”
Following his (Avwomakpa) plea for an out of court settlement, that he would return the illegally acquired land, the family was persuaded to withdraw the suit. He returned the land initially as promised.”
“But before we say Jack Robbinson, Avwomakpa failed to honour his commitment as he approached and petitioned us to the Ovie of Uvwie Palace. The Palace’s meeting presided over by our revered monarch, HRM (Dr.) Emmanuel E. Sideso, Abe 1, JP, OON, after hearing from all the parties, issued a communiqué dated June 23rd, 2023, in which the two parties were advised to engage in further consultations to resolve the imbroglio in the spirit of give and take.”
“Like a rabble rouser desperate to achieve his nefarious intentions by all means possible, lawful and unlawful, Avwomakpa again jettisoned our respected monarch peaceful overtures by running to an Effurun High Court, where he secured a motion ex-parte against Chief Kestin Pondi, who didn’t have any business with him as far as land acquisition was concerned, after feeding the honourable court with lies.”
“What he got was not an interrogating injunction and his lawyers should know the implications of that. The order has since expired.”
However, contrary to the claims by Avwomakpa, the Ovwere Family disclosed that it didn’t have any affinity and blood relationship with any other family within and outside Ekpan in connection with inheritance.
“The Ovwere Family in Ekpan did not own any land jointly with any other family as claimed by Avwomakpa. His claims that he acquired our Area B land in 2007 jointly with Owhojivwieme, Otome and Esiyokpo Families in Ugboroke and Ovwere Family of Ekpan was a blatant lie unexpected from a man of God, whom he claimed to be.”
“In 2002, he didn’t claim to have acquired the land from other families.”
The family cited the letter written by Avwomakpa to the District Manager of National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) on August 30th, 2002 and titled “Re- Ownership of Permanent Site of Christ’s Missionaries (Crusaders) Church/Transformer Location”, as an admission that Ovwere Family was and remains Avwomakpa’s sole landlord.
The letter partly reads: “I wish to inform you that the above named site and position where the transformer is located was legally acquired from Ovwere Family of Ekpan by the Church.”
“Enclosed herewith are copies of the survey plan, the Gazette by the government acquiring NNPC land and the letter by the then state government, excluding where we now occupy, through the Ovwere Family, from the area acquired by NNPC.”
“Any other claimant laying claim to the piece of land in question, especially as regards the transformer, which is equally a government property, should ignored.”
“Gentlemen of the Press, Archbishop God-do-Well Avwomakpa is the one oppressing us and yet he is the one crying wolves. He is the one actually encroaching, trespassing and illegally acquiring and surveying our family heritage, without our consent. He is busy forging documents and signatures of our deceased family members to generate fake deeds to achieve his sinister intentions.”
“We are wondering what Avwomakpa wants to achieve with these fraudulent worldly acquisition as a man of God that he claimed to be. To the extent that he at a time approached the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry, Ekpan, which is also a tenant of Ovwere Family, to vacate their land and Church close to his own Church and sell the property to him.”
“We are in receipt of a letter addressed to the Ovwere Family of Ekpan from the Resident Pastor of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Ekpan,” Ovwere Family stated in a letter to Avwomakpa dated 11th January, 2021 and signed by Orogho and Famous Ikaka.
“From the content of the letter, we are made to understand that you invited the Resident Pastor of the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Ekpan branch and informed him that you desire them to relocate from their present location at Ovwere Family land, Ekpan and that they are disturbing your Church. You even went as far as promising them that you are ready and willing to assist them financially if need be”
“Sir, we will want you to know that you have no such rights whatsoever to ask a legal land occupant like you to quit a land legally acquired by them. You are tenant to the Ovwere Family same as the Church. We equally want you to understand that the Mountain of Fire Church worship same God like you, sir you cannot say they are disturbing you.”
“We are therefore writing you this letter to let you know that we are now aware of the issue and want you(Avwomakpa) to desist from dictating to the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry. They deserve the enjoyment of their land just as you do.”
“Gentlemen of the Press, it appeals to common sense if one concludes that Avwomakpa is deploying his usual strategies of intimidation and blackmail to dispossess Chief Kestin Pondi of the land he genuinely and legitimately acquired from Ovwere Family, the same way Avwomakpa acquired Area A, where he currently built his Church from us in 2000.”
“Chief Kestin Pondi has no business with Avwomakpa and it’s unGodly for him to embark on the mission to tarnish the reputation of Chief Pondi in the public. We sold land genuinely without encumbrance to Chief Pondi, the same manner we sold land to Avwomakpa in 2000. We can only appeal to Avwomakpa to purge himself of wicked acquisition of worldly material things, which may be detrimental to his gaining entrance into the Kingdom of God.”
“Our man of God should try as much as possible to practice what he preaches. We sold land to him and sold land to others. What we sold to Chief Pondi didn’t belong to him. He should wait until the court says otherwise before he can lay claims to what rightly and legitimately belong to others.”
“God-do-Well Avwomakpa should stop seeking public sympathy and whipping up emotions and sentiments against innocent persons like Chief Pondi, who has not done anything wrong by buying land from us the same he bought his own.”
“Finally, we urge our Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and highly respected Ijaw leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo and indeed general public to ignore the baseless and nonsensical protests by Avwomakpa as he is the one oppressing Ovwere Family and disparaging innocent souls like Chief Pondi, apparently to curry undeserved sympathy and understanding.”
