By Cynthia Eruotor
The Ovwere’s family in Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area, Delta State have warned the Founder of Christ Missionaries Crusaders Church, Archbishop God-do-well Avwomakpa over his claims that his land has been trespassed and illegally acquired by the Managing Director, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd, a private oil pipeline security firm, Chief Kestin Pondi.
The Ovwere’s Family who are the landlord to Avwomakpa and other land owners in the areas opposite NNPC Housing Complex Main Gate in Ekpan Community said, on the contrary, it is Archbishop Avwomakpa that is actually illegally trespassing and acquiring their heritage. Avwomakpa had in a Save-My-Soul message to Governor Oborevwori and Ekpemupolo accusing Pondi of alleged trespass and illegal acquisition of a portion of land belonging to his Church located opposite NNPC Housing Complex Main Gate, Ekpan.
In an elaborate Press Conference in Warri, the duo of Daniel Orogho and William Ovwurie who spoke to newsmen on behalf of the family said, Archbishop God-do-well Avwomakpa lied to the public by his claims. The representatives of the Community said Archbishop Avwomakpa actually bought 2.024 acres of land in 2,000, adding that, he later went ahead to forge and manipulate deeds of conveyance and survey plans to lay claims to the ownership of 4.304 Acres within the vicinity of his Church.
The family said the Archbishop was acting without their consent and authorization just they accused the Cleric of dishonesty and blackmail of Tantita Managing Director for pecuniary gain. The family who are already aggrieved appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, High Chief Dr Government Ekpomupolo Alias Tompolo and the members of the public to ignore Archbishop Avwomakpa’s for help, as his pleas to the duo in particular as “rantings by a frustrated land grabber”.
According to the family, 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’s Family said they sold land to Avwomakpa in the same manner they sold different land to Pondi at opposite NNPC Housing Complex Main Gate in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area. The Ovwere’s 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.
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 who backed their 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.
According to the family, Avwomakpa forged the signatures of deceased leaders and members of the family especially that of Madam Doris Okoro Ovwere, Chief Gift Edjewhro and Mr. Jackson Ovwurie. 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.
According to the family, one Joel Afoke that Avwomakpa allegedly used as witness in the controversial deeds of 2007 was “fake, strange and unknown” to Ovwere’s family as the said Joel Afoke can best exist in the imagination of Archbishop God-do-Well Avwomakpa as an impostor and a fugitive.
The family said they discovered that Avwomakpa was confiscating their land and that , he has positioned to fraudulently seize Areas C and D of their land heritage, by virtue of his fraudulent deeds of December 24th, 2007, which he manufactured when he discovered that their parents who signed for him in 2,000 are all dead.
They family said on that basis, they dragged him(Avwomakpa) and three others to an Effurun High Court, in a suit numbered EHC 228/2014 for succour. But because Avwomakpa pleaded for an out of Court’s settlement, that he would return the illegally acquired land, the family was persuaded to withdraw the suit and he initially returned the land as promised.
They family said: “But before we say Jack Robinson, 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 communique 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, Avwomakpa again jettisoned our respected Monarch’s 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”
Again, contrary to the claims by Avwomakpa, the Ovwere’s Family disclosed that they don’t have any affinity and blood relationship with any other family within and outside Ekpan in connection with inheritance.
The family said: “The Ovwere’s Family in Ekpan do 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’s Families in Ugboroke and Ovwere’s Family of Ekpan were blatant lies, unexpected from a man of God, whom he claimed to be.
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 MISSIONARIES (CRUSADERS) CHURCH /TRANSFORMER LOCATION” , as an admission that Ovwere’s 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’s 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’s 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 be ignored”
Speaking further, the family said they wondered what Avwomakpa wants to achieve with these fraudulent worldly acquisition as a man of God, that he claimed to be as to the extent that, he at a time, approached the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry, Ekpan, which is also a tenant of Ovwere’s Family, to vacate their land and Church close to his own Church and sell the property to him, that they are disturbing his church adding, he promised to give another land and assist them(Mountain of Fire) financially.
According to them, they are in receipt of a letter addressed to the Ovwere’s Family of Ekpan from the Resident Pastor of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Ekpan. Ovwere’s Family stated in a letter signed Orogho and Famous lkaka and dated 11th January,2021 to Avwomakpa.
The family therefore said they put this write up to enable him(Avwomakpa) know that they(Ovwere’s Family) know what is going on as regards the land that he should not dictate for anybody because they all bought land from them. They let him know what he perpetrating just as they asked the Cleric to practice whatever he preaches in the Church and stop oppression whatsoever as they sold to Chief Pondi as they did for him.
The family concluded:” 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(Avwomakpa) bought his own.”