ORUKU COMMUNITY. CONTINENT: AFRICA REGION: WEST AFRICA COUNTRY: NIGERIA STATE: ENUGU STATE LOCAL GOERNMENT: NKANU EAST LGA TRIBE: IBO (IGBO) LANGUAGE: IBO POPULATION 12,569 (2006 POPULATION CENSUS) TRADITIONAL RULER HRH IGWE DR C.A. NOMEH JP THE EZEUDO I OF ORUKU ORUKU TOWN UNION: HON. THEOPHILUS OKEY ADENYI PRESIDENT GENERAL.
HISTORY OF ORUKU
The history of Oruku Community is like that of other communities in Iboland. Oruku people are descendants of Adam. The founder of this community is called Onaga Ife jiaba Nnamchi from Agana in Igala area. He migrated through Oturkpo to the present day Oruku. The full name of Oruku is ORUKU JIABA. When he came here, he settled in a place called Okpuhu in Aguikpa Oruku land and lived at the bank of the Inyaba River. Then, he had two sons namely Igwejike and Chiani or Ihunam. The children procreated and got about eighteen other children.
This is pre-colonial history. Any history with dates is usually from when the Whitemen came. Oruku people and decendants have lived between 500 and 600 years before the coming of the Whiteman. The ancestors of Oruku were able to trace their ancestry to the man called, Onaga Ifejiaba Nnamchi. They lived at Okpuhu and narrated the story to the Whitemen when they came. Ihunam or Umuchiani occupied the right hand side of the Inyaba River while Igwejike occupied the left hand side at Okpuhu. Ihuam or Umuchiani lived very close to Amagunze while Igwejike lived and backed the Nike end. Oruku people lived there for hundreds of years until one incident happened. That incident happened between 1865-1875. Because Oruku people were hospitable, a man called Uzu Nwaonovo Ani, a notorious criminal from Amagunze took asylum in Oruku and was given refuge by one Eze Nwokenwa Edenwachi from Ihunam or Umuchiani quarters. After he was given asylum, he continued his notorious activities and at a stage he went and stole a cow belonging to somebody, and as a result of that, there was a problem between the people and the man himself. Before Oruku people would know what happened, the man ran away. On running away for his life, as we were told, he met slave hunters outside Oruku around Abakaliki area where he wanted to run to. Unfortunately, the slave hunters got him and sold him to slavery to one Nwiboko in Abakaliki. Amagunze people later demanded for him. They wanted the man alive. Oruku people narrated the entire incident to them. There was a kind of peace meeting between Oruku and Amagunze to discuss and settle the matter. When Oruku people went to Amagunze for the talk, which was held two or three times, on the fourth day, not knowing that Amagunze people had plotted to carry out a revenge attack, they arrested Eze Nwokenwa Edenwachi, the leader of the delegation and abducted him and eventually stabbed him to death. Oruku fought gallantly and were able to retrieve the body. The development caused a war between Oruku and Amagunze. It was a fierce war which Amagunze, Oruku and another community – Akpofu, continue to regret to this day because the death toll was very heavy on both sides. When the war was on, Akpofu people, one of Oruku neighbouring communities, came and requested for a cow from Oruku so that they would fight on Oruku side. Oruku people refused, saying that they would not want to draw them into the problem. Unfortunately, the same Akpofu people went to Amagunze and requested and got a cow. Then Amagunze and Akpofu people joined hands and fought Oruku. They were doing this together with Amaechi Idodo. They had an alliance with them. They attacked Oruku people on all fronts. Oruku were fighting with Amagunze at the Southern end of the land; Akpofu people attacked Oruku from the northern end. So, it was a fierce battle, at the end of which the survivors scattered to other communities for safety. Oruku people, after meeting to decide their future, decided to relocate to its present location near its boundary with Nike and Akpugo . Another thing is that, when the war was on, some of Oruku people ran to Amaechi Idodo to seek refuge. Unfortunately, over 600 Oruku people, majority of them from Igwejike quarters were killed by Amechi Idodo people who were supposed to give them shelter. Their reasons are best known to them. The few who survived are known as Umu Onuma Ezeigbo, Umu Unaa etc in Amaechi Idodo today. The remnants who survived it have families synonymous with families we have here. When Oruku were at Okpuhu, Igwejike was the eldest son of Onaga Ifejaba Nnamchi. Then, at a stage, the man who handled the ‘Ofor’, the symbol of authority and Oruku existence had no son and so, when he was sick, he transferred the ‘Ofor’ to one of his sons-in-laws from Umuchiani. He blessed the ‘Ofor’ so that it will not go into extinction. That was how Umuchiani became the holder of the ‘Ofor’ and the Eldership was transferred to them.
In Umuchiani, there are 12 families. The eldest man or family in Umuchiani is Ekpa Anichiani followed by Ogbu Anichiani , Chinjoku and Onuma Chiani or Onuma Eze. The later had two sons namely: Ede Ekpaeze and Chiekpa Eze. Chiekpa Eze had four sons namely Okenwa Edenwachi, Orji Nwede Nwachi , Nnamede Nwachi and Eze Nwachi .
Other sons or families of Chiani are Umuekee, Umu Owene, Umu Omee and Umu Echiku bringing the number to 12 families. Then in Igwejike quarters, you have Ujoreji, Umu Nshiuba, Umuchieze, Umu Anegu Nohe, Umuokenwa Onuma and Umu Agubata. These are the families that make up Oruku then. Then came Umuode later . No Umuode man lived in Okpuhu when Oruku fought with the other three communities because they came through slavery. Not even a single soul because when Oruku ancestors were there, there was nothing like slave born in Oruku then. It was after the war when Oruku people relocated to its present location which is our land that Umuode started arriving. They were regarded as serfs to our people who became their lords and masters. Then, they were in the service of Oruku people. One good thing was that the Orukus never use any Umuode man or slave population for ritual as done in other communities. When Umuode started arriving, as a result of their evolution, they started serving some Oruku chiefs . At Okpuhu, Oruku had some notable chiefs like – Okenwa Edenwachi, Orji Nwede Nwachi, Ogbede Nnaji, Mba Nwogbu, Uzoabene , Nnaji Nwene Egbo etc. They were our ancestors from Okpuhu. This information was passed down us by our ancestors. These men are among the original freeborn Oruku people. Others include; Abaa Onovo, Nwatu Ogbu, Ani Nwomiyi, Orji Nweze, Nnaji Nwanamani, Ogbu Nwede, Ogbede Orji, Inyaba Nwaegbo , Nwatu Nwuvu Eke etc. There are many others but then Okenwa Edenwachi was regarded as one of the mouthpiece of the people at Okpuhu. When Oruku people relocated to its present place over 140 yrs ago, they started living their normal life as before just like other communities in Iboland. The whitemen came to Oruku for the first time in 1910 and to other communities in Nkanu land. In 1914, the warrant chief system came on board. The white men appointed through the nomination of Oruku people, the late Chief Nnamene Nwogbu as the Warrant Chief of Oruku and the Igwenezolu Oha of Oruku – the rain that falls and blesses the land of Oruku; that is the meaning. The main road that leads to Akporga and to Emene was first developed by him. He died in 1918. Ten years later, he was succeeded by Chief Okenwa Adenyi populary known as "Ebiem Ede". The Missionaries came to Oruku in 1918, through the Methodist Church, then CMS, but Late Warrant Chief Nnamane Nwogbu before his death said that he preferred the Catholic Mission then at Eke. When the Catholic Church came that same year, Chief Nnamene Nwogbu gave them accommodation in his palace. They brought a teacher who started missionary work in the community. The first mission school was established there. After Chief Nnamene’s death, the Catholic Church started expanding in Oruku through the blessing and assistance of Chief Okenwa Adenyi who took over the mantle of leadership of the community and later became a warrant Chief in 1928. He gave them his garage where he used to park Volkswagen car. Chief Okenwa Adenyi (alias Ebiem Ede) himself was a respected man in Oruku. He was a warrior, a man of his people and was liked by Oruku people. He was wealthy and a rich farmer also. He completed the development of Oruku-Akpuoga-Emene road which his predecessor started as well as other roads that lead to our neighbouring communities. His contemporaries were late Igwe Onyeama of Eke, Late Chukwu Ani of Ozalla, Late Nwugbo Achi of Agbani, Late chief Edeani of Nara e.t.c. It was during the reign of Igwe Okenwa that Umuode was integrated as a political unit or clan in Oruku. Umuode (the slave population) were divided into five families namely Umuchuba, Umuode Onaga (this Onaga is an adopted name by Umuode Onaga and has no relationship with Onaga ifejiaba Nnamchi, the founder of Oruku community), Umuoka, Umuanegu and Umu Nnajianebu. These are the five families of Umuode making it 23 families in Oruku. My brother, we lived interwoven, that is, together. In other communities, remnants of slavery do not have the freedom Umuode had in Oruku. They don’t do funeral ceremony in those places. In Nkanu land nay Iboland if you do the funeral ceremony of your father (that is the first title you take as a man) and cap it with that of your mother, and kill five domestic animals, you will be regarded as a titled man. Late Chief Okenwa Adenyi himself used his money to sponsor Umuode to get their ‘Igede’ – a chief dance in Iboland meant for big people and the freeborn indigenes (Umu Amadi). He also assisted an Umuode man , late Ogbo Anichi to perform the funeral ceremony of his late father by donating a horse and other gifts to him ( the first by an Umuode man) thus pave way for the Umuodes to perform this type of ceremony in Oruku. In every part of Nkanu land and even in Iboland, Umu Amadi or the Ikengas, it means freeborn. The meaning of Amadi is freeborn. If you hear Umuode or Umuodenigbo or Awbia, it means remnants of slavery or slave born origin Mr Beaumont’s Intelligence Report on communities in North Nkanu and Agbani-Akpugo communities refers. There was no dispute between Oruku and Umuode in Oruku before, until 1990-91, only that Umuchiani and Umuigwejike were the progenitors and sons of the original founder of Oruku. The two are of Amadi group or freeborn origins of Oruku right from Okpuhu. Oruku and Umuode lived as brothers. If there was any event in the community, everybody will attend. We have only one school, St. Mary’s Catholic Mission, established in the year 1932, one market, one meeting point at "Nkwor" e.t.c. The person who presides over in every communal meeting is the eldest man (before from Igwejike Quarters and later from Umuchiani Quarter) in the community flanked by other elders and the warrant Chief or Igwe. They rub minds together during deliberations on any matter. In Oruku today, we have seven villages namely Isienu-the oldest village, Ameke, Ohuani, Obinagu, Eziobodo, Uzam and Aguikpa. These villages have boundaries that seperate them. Because Oruku live interwoven, there is no particular place or village known as Umuode or Umuchiani or Onuogowo.
MARRIAGE. On the issue of Marriage I can tell you that five Oruku men are marrying Umuode women and they are living with them now. But no Umuode man is marrying from Oruku. They are Mr. Vincent Nnamani, he is married to Late Obisi Nwogbodo’s daughter (Ozoemena), Mr. Peter Ogbu Nwonuma, he is married to Late Egbo Nwogbodo’ s daughter, Mr. Nnamani Nwani Inyaba, he is married to Late Ugwu Nwani’s daughter ( Nwakaego) and so on. They are the ones segregating. I had friends from Umuode side which includes female ones before the crisis. Two families of Umuode extraction who refused to join them in their evil acts against Oruku people are still living with their families in Oruku today mingling freely with Oruku people. They are late Sylvester Ani Nwogbumba and Mr. Isaac Ani, the later is a chief priest of one of our shrine
ORUKU DURING NIGERIA BIAFRA CIVIL WAR
During the civil war, an Umuode man called Nicholas Omaba became the Sariki Hausa of Oruku. The man (Nicholas Omaba) was half literate. Oruku people did not raise any objection against his appointment. He, Nicholas used the position to victimize our people. He killed prominent freeborn indigenes of Oruku like Nwatu Nwamushi, Marcus Ani, Omaba Nwamushi, Ambrose Ogbodo Inyaba, Ituma Okechi, Inyiagwo Nwatuede, Ebiem Ogbodo, John Anike and others while some others fled the community till the end of the war and his brutality . Oruku people took it as war time event, but Umuode are wicked people, any opportunity they got in life , what gives them joy is to use it to victimize Oruku people.
1976 CHIEFTANCY EDICT In the year 1976, the then East Central State re-established the Chieftaincy System, some unscrupulous people from the three clans without the approval of Oruku General Assembly prepared a chieftaincy constitution recommending rotation of chief of the community among the three clans and the only community where such clause was included in the entire Nkanu land and was used to elect Igwe Nwatu Okenwa, the third Igwe of Oruku. He contested against one Chief Ukeh Nwannamene Nwogbu, alias Njoku ji Nwonuma, a great farmer,
AMMENDED CHIEFTANCY CODE OF CONDUCT OF 1987 After the death of Igwe Nwatu Okenwa in 1983, the community unanimously voted to amend the constitution in 1987 just like every other constitution. At the end, merit system was enshrined in the chieftaincy constitution with some qualifications for the aspirants. This new constitution paved way for Oruku to elect an Igwe who will be accountable to the people and not to a particular clan. This was approved by Oruku General Assembly and signed by representatives of the 23 families in Oruku comprising all the 12 families of Umuchiani, 6 families of Onuogowo, and 5 families of Umuode. Then Oruku people started searching for a credible and educated person who will be their Igwe. Chief Cornelius Nomeh emerged having met the conditions. He contested against one Chief Nnaji Nwobisi. No one from Umuode declared interest on the stool. On the day of the election, all the clans and their families including the Umuodes participated in the voting, at the end Chief Cornelus A Nomeh was elected as the Igwe of Oruku.
ORUKU/UMUODE CRISES Problem started after Chief Nomeh’s election and on the day of his coronation as Igwe because Prof. Barth Nnaji who was born and brought up in Oruku but of Umuode extraction (the remnants of slavery in the community) decreed and stopped the Umuodes from attending the coronation. On the night that preceded the coronation, some of our Umuode neighbours in Obinagu Village which is Igwe Nomeh’s village participated in slaughtering the cow Igwe Nomeh used for the ceremony. All of us shared on equal basis parts of the meat given to us.On the day Igwe Nomeh was presented to the Chairman of Nkanu Local Government Area, they were present. The next thing we saw was that they went to court challenging HRH Igwe C. A. Nomeh’s election. Though we were surprised but regarded it as normal for any aggrieved person or group though they lost the suit because they don’t have enough evidence to prove marginalization
Prof Barth Nnaji was leading the Umuodes. He was in America during the nomination, but was directing his people on what to do.
Umuode started distancing themselves from all activities in the town. Then the last straw that broke the camel’s back was that Oruku and Akpugo people have been battling over this land, from where we are today to its end at Inyaba River, about 4 kilometers from Oruku. When it started in 1933, all the native courts gave judgment in favour of Oruku people on this land.
Akpugo people because they are larger than Oruku in population and are hungry for land , due to population explosion in their place started encroaching in our lands. In Mr. De-Hill’s Report. A Whiteman’s report. Mr. De- Hill’s himself was a representative of the Resident who conducted research on the communities in Nkanu land, their evolution etc, the report indicated that this land we are occupying today is Oruku land because there are Native Court judgments in our favour together with Oruku long occupation. In 1971, Oruku people took Akpugo people to court for trespass after Akpugo attacked them in 1964 and killed three people on Oruku soil. Then due to want of diligent prosecution on the side of our lawyer, Barr. Anyamene SAN , the matter was struck out at the instance of Akpugo people, through their lawyer. When our lawyer came back, he applied for the relisting of that suit which was granted by Justice Mbanefo in 1976. Few days later, they filed an appeal against the relisting of the suit and abandoned it there. They then filed a fresh suit in another Court against Oruku on the same land and forged a map claiming that the entire right hand side of Oruku is Aguefi instead of the original Aguefi, is their land . Oruku lost at the High Court. Because one of their sons Late Chief Ogbu Nwobodo Ogbu who was an archivist working at Enugu National Archieve removed and hid all the colonial documents which includes; Native Court judgement in favour of Oruku, Plan AB31 showing all the boundaries of communities in Nkanu land as demarcated by the colonial masters which includes Oruku, Akpugo, Amechi Idodo, Akegbe Nike, Akpawfu, Amagunze. This made Oruku people helpless as the authorities they relied upon are nowhere to be found in the archives. Even one of the Supreme Court Justices noted that the inability of Oruku people to produce these documents at the High COURT has dealt a fatal blow to our case. Imagine such comment from a Justice of the Supreme Court in his judgment. They produced a map and claimed that the entire right hand side of Oruku is now Aguefi Akpugo which was false as well as other documents they forged. Oruku appealed against the judgment and the Court of Appeal gave the judgment in Oruku favour. The Appeal Court recognized the colonial documents and native court judgments in our favour. They went to the Supreme Court where Oruku lost as they claimed they were in physical possession of the land which is also false. After the Judgment of July 1994, Oruku gathered at (Onyioha house)- the oldest man in the community’s palace, Prof. Barth Nnaji who was in attendance and who Oruku people later found out that he personally worked against the community during the legal battle, suggested to the community that the only way to achieve peace between us and Akpugo is to divide the land into two. The Inyaba end to Akpugo, while the other side of it to Oruku. One of his kinsmen Late Ogbonnia Ogbodo stood up and told him it will not happen like that. He advised Prof. Nnaji to liaise with other leaders of Oruku and find any other avenue whether social, political or legal to solve the problem since it did not favour us at the apex court. This comment by Chief Ogonnia Ogbodo was hailed and unanimously supported by Oruku People. That night, unknown to the other clans, the Umuode people en-masse went and fined the man one thousand naira and started segregation in the Town more especially in the Town Union, age grades, and village meetings and in 1995, they plotted to kill the then President of our Town Union, Chief Nnaji Nwobisi in his farm. There was a riot in this community after which Umuode ran into exile to Ezza Akpuoga. The then military governor, Col Torey brought them back and asked us to live in peace but they did not stop their wicked activities. Oruku did not know they had plans to eject them from their ancestral home. In 1998, they said they do not want to be in Oruku again but want an autonomous community carved out for them. The then military administrator, Col. Sule Ahman set up a committee to look into the issue of autonomous community. Our people were invited and they did not object to Umuode’s desire for grant of autonomy which the committee recommended based on availability of virgin land to settle them. They did not recommend evicting any Oruku man from his ancestral home in Aguefi for the Umuodes. They committee or panel did not recommend Aguefi or any particular land. As time went by, Umuode people insisted that Oruku people must vacate Aguefi land predominantly occupied by them. They brought out a fake and concocted document claiming that they bought the land. The land we had inhabited before their arrival to Oruku . Go there and see if it is a virgin land. How can a segment of a community who lost legal battle over a land at the Supreme Court claim that they have bought part or whole of the same land from a segment of the community that won the legal tussle. Is it not a distortion of the Supreme Court judgment? Where has it happened if not the intrigues, evil machination and wickedness of Umuode and their Umuaniubureke Akpugo collaborators?
The size of this land Aguefi is over 1,000 hectares. Oruku people refused to vacate Aguefi and out of love and magnanimity donated to them a virgin land at Abari. It measures about 405 hectares, but Umuode refused accepting it and claimed that they bought Oruku ancestral home from a segment of Akpugo people. Those Segments The Umuode or the Awbias from Akpugo. They have an umbrella body called Umuaniubureke Welfare Association. They are the ones fuelling Oruku-Umuode crisis.
They (UMUODE) now went and lobbied the then military governor who acquired Oruku ancestral home citing Land Use Act. Imagine Umuode claiming to have purchased Aguefi land and the military Governor acquired it. This is wonderful! Acquiring a land won in a court and giving it or part of it to the other party in the dispute during the legal battle or part of them is nothing but distortion of the Supreme Court judgment. Oruku case is one of the atrocities committed by the then military junta in this part of the country. Today the juntas are out and Oruku has continued to exist on the same Aguefi land and shall continue until the end of the world.
The Governor is Navy Capt Agbaje from Ondo state. The last military administrator of Enugu State. He gave our people two weeks to vacate from this land. But we said No.
After the expiration of the two weeks, Umuode started demolishing and de-roofing their houses preparatory to move into Aguefiland hoping that Oruku people living there will vacate for them. The then local Government Chairman Mr. Asogwa acting on the instruction of Navy Capt. Agbaje sent a letter to Oruku people ordering Oruku to pack out of Aguefi. One Mr Emmanuel Omaba of Umuode used his pick up them to load their properties to Prof. Nnaji’ house located in Eziobodo Oruku Village. This led to an internecine war as Umuode on the process murdered some Oruku people. After the battle Umuode went into Exile at Apuoga Nike. shrines
Oruku before the arrival of Christianity were pagans and have many shrines. In those days, shrines were maintained by Freeborn indigenes.
Shrines like ANI ORUKU (the gods of Oruku land and protector of all orukus) which is the chief deity of Oruku people is maintained by the Umuigwejike or Onuogowo quarters since time immemorial, similarly, Njoku ji shrine which is the gods of harvest and which sacrifice is made to before Oruku celebrates her new yam festival known as Ose Njoku every year is maintained by the Onuogowo Quarters since Oruku was founded. Omerigwe shrine named after Omerigwe lake is also exclusive for Umuchiani Quarters as well as Offor Eke shrines. Others are Igwekamma Shrines, and many others. Umuode after their formation were given the privilege to maintain few shrines as part of Oruku’s magnanimity to accommodate them , such as Inyaba and Ngeneiji and other minor gods. In the case of Omaba shrine and Masqurade which started in Oruku at the beginning of the second quarter of last century (in the 30s ), each village has its own Omaba shrine and masqurade. Each village chooses their Atama (the priest) according to who the omaba accepts to maintain it. One Onovo Ekpa of Umuode, was chosen to maintain the "Ugwudike" the Omaba of isienu village but was paralysed by the omaba because of his evil machination which made him to offer sacrifice to the Omaba with his right hand instead of the customary left hand hence he was paralyzed and this led to his death. In ANI Oruku shrine, whenever there is a sacrifice, it is shared in the following Order Umuchiani, Umuunaa Igwejike , Agubata, Umuowene, Umuekee . These five families must collect their share of animal offered for sacrifice in this seniority order before Umuode. ROYAL FAMILIES About Okenwa family, The family is a royal family respected by Oruku people and non Orukus from far and near , they had produced two monarchs and had assisted Umuode to develop since their arrival and integration in Oruku. Okenwa family is like the Odezuluigbo family in Nike land, the Eze family of Ukpor Dunukofia, the Ezechima family in Onitsha, the Orizu royal family in Nnewi, the Njemanze and Ikweche families of Owerri and others numerous to mention. The colonial royal family is the Nnamane Nwogbu Family and presently the Igwe Dr. C. A. Nomeh royal .
ORUKU ARCHIVIAL DOCUMENTS AND SURVEY PLANS AND NATIE COURT VICTORIES They includes AB 31 of 1945, CUO /EN/D/60/94, CUO/EN/99/08 , Oruku won Aguikpa from Akpugo in suit Obodo Nike native court suit 36/33, Agu Nwatu Ani of Oruku vs Nwodo Ogbodo Ochuba of Akpugo. (2). Idodo Native court 38/38, Nwobodo Aniagu for self and Oruku vs Ani Nwanwodo and 19 others of Akpugo ended in favour of Oruku, (3). Idodo N.C. 17/41 Joseph Mba for Oruku vs Ani Njoku Onwe and 9 others of Akpugo, Trespass into Nkuji Nkpume Oruku land. Judgment for Oruku people.(4) Idodo N.C. 114/44 Okenwa Adenyi for Oruku vs Nshi Nwede Evu and 19 others of Akpugo, to quit from Oruku land Nkuji Mkpume occupied by the defendants a month ago, judgment for Oruku people. Idodo N.C. 129s/44 Okenwa Adenyi for Oruku vs Igweshi Onwe and four others of Ndiagu Akpugo , to quit Nkuji Mkpume , judgment for Oruku people. These are cases in appendix B of De-hills report, which Oruku won against Akpugo. Enugu Archives. As it concerns Akpuorga these are the decided cases involving them and Oruku people see appendix A of Mr De- Hills report. Obodo Nike Native Court no 38/30, Anike Nweze and Ugwu Nwagbowo of Akpuorga Nike vs Ebonyi Nwannaji and three others of Oruku, to quit from plaintiffs land Ani Agu, majority judgment for the plaintiff, on review by the D.O ., native court judgment dismissed and a boundary demarcated. (2) AgbowoNnamani of Akpuorga vs Okenwa Adenyi and 19 others , Nike Court 43/38 over the judgment on 38/30, the D.O. suspended the case and the judgment of 38/30 stands. That is not all, in the year 1952, Akpuoga community instituted a suit against Oruku at the magistrate court Enugu over Aguefi land in suit no ME/3439/52 and got judgment but lost the legal battle at the then Supreme Court in Enugu in suit no A/9A/1954 following an appeal by Oruku people in a Judgment delivered by Justice Horace S Palmer and that was the end of the legal tussle between Oruku and Akpuorga over Aguefi Land. These records hidden by the Akpugo people through Late Ogbu Nwobodo Ogbu are now in the archives. So Aguefi after the judgment on suit no A/9A/1954 became Oruku land. Aguefi never belong to Akpugo, and by the supreme court Judgment of 1954, never belong to Akpuorga the records are there. At the Native courts no Umuode man represented Oruku in all the mentioned cases. PRESENT STATUS OF AGUEFI LAND
Akpugo people, through their Igwes as there is no village in Akpugo where an Umuode man is Igwe and accredited/recorgnised leaders instituted a suit against the government for acquisition of Aguefi land. The case is still pending at Agbani High Court. The suit number is HAGB/6/08. Akpugo freeborns are Oruku brothers and intermarry and because of the defects noticed in the supreme court Judgment and the events enumerated above, Akpugo people and Oruku people met severally and had resolved the issue via a memorandum signed by the representatives of the two communities on 10th January 2008 and a consent agreement which was made the judgment of an Enugu High Court on January 30th 2008 in suit NoE/161/71. Consequent upon this , Aguefi which Oruku people calls Otolojo is now Oruku Land.
DEVELOPMENTS IN ORUKU SINCE UMUODE LEFT Oruku had a secondary school, An American Embbassy sponsored class block, UBE classroom Block, Rural Elecrification, water borehole, 2nd primary school at Aguikpa village with a new modern Building, culverts in the major road of Oruku, rehabilitation of Oruku road by Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the ongoing Elecrification of Aguefi Land and many others. When we were living together there was no development in Oruku because of Umuode wickedness and hatred for the community
source Theophilus Okey Adenyi
President General Oruku Town Union
Enugu-Nigeria