Strong acquisition of agricultural land: our case against IMO Govt, Ministry of Sion, by Mbaishii Autonomous Community

The autonomous community of Mbaishii in Ngor-Okpala, in the state of IMO, complained that they described as an illegal and unconstitutional acquisition of 30,000 hectares of agricultural land by the state government.
This is since the legal actions have been established in various State Courts against the government and the Ministry of Sion who presumably accused was the beneficiary of the lands illegally assumed by the government.

During a world press conference in Abuja, the Popular Assembly of Mbaishii presented a detailed report of the legal violations and ongoing causes, including cases of how/184/2024, as/967/2024, as/15/2025 and as/191/2025, all challenging the actions of the state and the search for a ransom for illegal imaginative.

According to communities, their agricultural land have never been formally acquired by the government. Instead, they argue that the lands were delivered to the Ministry of Zion by Evangelista Ebuka Obi under the false claim of an acquisition of 2007 they support has never occurred.

The judicial judgments of 2010 and 2011 had previously invalidated attempts to acquire similar acquisition, establishing a legal preceding that the communities insist must be respected. They argue that the continuous destruction of agricultural land and the use of security forces to respect the acquisition constitute a contempt for the court and a flagrant abuse of power.

Pursuant to section 44 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution, the mandatory acquisition of the property must be carried out in accordance with the right process and for demonstrable public interest. Community leaders insist that transforming their agricultural land into religious premises does not satisfy this standard.

They are asking for the immediate withdrawal of the safety personnel, the arrest of all the activities of the Ministry of Zion on Earth and the restoration of legitimate possession. They further ask for compensation for the economic losses already suffered and the pursuit of those who have violated the orders of the existing court.

“This assault on our economic basis has all the characteristics of a genocide. A silent and systematic cancellation of the means of survival of a people,” said the spokesperson.

The communities of Mbaishii invited the president Bola Tinubu, the head of the army staff and the police inspector to immediately order the withdrawal of the security forces from their lands and stop what they described as “executive illegality”.

The journalists and media houses have also urged to investigate the question independently and attract international attention to what they described as “a clear abuse of power, a violation of fundamental rights and a threat to democracy”.

“It is no longer just about earth. It concerns the soul of justice, the dignity of human life and the survival of our people,” they concluded.