A silent but intense land crisis is simmering in the heart of Enugu State, where the once-peaceful Mburubu community in Nkanu East Local Government Area has raised an urgent cry for help. Their farmland — the backbone of their agrarian economy — is under threat, and their patience is wearing thin.
In a passionate appeal to the Enugu State Government and the State Boundary Adjustment Commission, the Mburubu people have sent out a distress signal over what they allege is a deliberate and forceful encroachment on their ancestral farmlands by their neighbors in Oduma, a community in the neighboring Aninri Local Government Area.
For generations, farming has been the lifeblood of the Mburubu people. “We are farmers. This land is not just soil to us — it is our identity,” says Chief Dr. Simon Aniobi, a community leader and traditional council member. “Now, that identity is being trampled.”
Reports gathered from community leaders and eyewitnesses allege a sustained pattern of aggression by individuals from Oduma. These acts include the destruction of cultivated crops, illegal occupation of cleared farmland, and in some cases, violent confrontations.
“Any time our people clear their farmland in preparation for planting, Oduma people move in at night or early in the morning to occupy and start cultivating it themselves,” says Dr. Aniobi, adding, “they do this knowing that we are a peace-loving people and will avoid confrontation.”
Residents say that the attacks have become so frequent and coordinated that Mburubu farmers now move in groups for protection and attempt to cultivate land immediately after clearing it — a desperate strategy to deter encroachment.
“We no longer go to the farm alone. If you do, you may be harassed or worse,” said Ngozi Mbah, a farmer and mother of five. “Last month, I lost all my cassava crops because Oduma boys came with machetes and cleared it to the ground.”
At the heart of the dispute lies the unresolved boundary demarcation between the two communities. According to Mburubu’s traditional leaders, the Enugu State Boundary Adjustment Commission has failed to officially delineate the boundary lines, leaving a dangerous vacuum that Oduma allegedly exploits.
The community is now calling on the Commission and the Enugu State Government to urgently intervene.
“The failure to delineate this boundary is a ticking time bomb,” says High Chief Joseph Nwankwo. “We are not asking for war; we are asking for clarity, peace, and justice.”
Efforts to obtain a comment from the Enugu State Boundary Adjustment Commission at the time of filing this report were unsuccessful. However, sources within the Commission who spoke off-record admitted that multiple petitions have been received regarding the Mburubu-Oduma dispute.
Compounding the tension is the recent circulation of a video purportedly showing an Oduma man being attacked — an incident some claim is part of a larger propaganda campaign designed to shift public sympathy and portray Mburubu in a negative light.
Community leaders in Mburubu vehemently deny the authenticity of the footage, calling it “false, manipulated, and dangerously misleading.”
“That video is pure propaganda,” said High Chief Emmanuel Edeh, the President General of Mburubu Town Union. “There has never been any attack by Mburubu people on Oduma citizens. If anything, we have endured years of provocation and have always taken the path of peace.”
Law enforcement appears to support this narrative. According to credible sources within the police force — including officers from the Aninri and Nenwe Divisional Police Offices — there is no official record of any violent attack perpetrated by Mburubu against Oduma.
“From the reports we’ve received, it’s clear that the Mburubu community has shown considerable restraint,” said one police source under anonymity due to sensitivity of the matter. “But peace cannot be sustained if one party keeps pushing and the other is expected to keep absorbing.”
Despite growing tensions, Mburubu continues to preach peace. Religious leaders, elders, and youth organizations within the community are unified in their stance — they do not want war.
“We are begging the government not just to hear us, but to act now,” High Chief Ezeh said. “We have no guns, no violence, only the truth and a deep desire to preserve what belongs to us.”
He also extended a call for dialogue between the two communities under the supervision of the state government and neutral parties.
“The only solution is a boundary demarcation that respects history and justice,” he said. “Our people are tired of being pushed to the edge.”
This is not the first time Enugu State has faced inter-community land conflicts. From Uzo-Uwani to Ezeagu, disputes over ancestral land have often turned deadly in the past — a prospect that Mburubu residents are working tirelessly to avoid.
But without government action, that hope for peace may become increasingly difficult to maintain.
“The situation in Mburubu is a classic case of a peaceful community being punished for its patience,” says High Chief Nwankwo. “What they need now is protection, clarity of territory, and mediation — not more silence.”
For now, the land of Mburubu remains fertile, but fraught with anxiety. The women still till the soil. The youths still gather to clear the land. And the elders still gather, praying for justice.
Whether the Enugu State Government will answer this SOS remains to be seen. But as the sun sets over Mburubu’s embattled fields, one thing is certain: the people may be quiet, but their voices are growing louder.
What Mburubu is Asking For
- Urgent intervention by the Enugu State Government
- Immediate and impartial boundary delineation by the State Boundary Adjustment Commission
- Deployment of law enforcement to prevent further encroachment
- Investigation into farmland destruction and alleged attacks
- Neutral mediation between Mburubu and Oduma communities