Governor Peter Mbah’s kinsmen in Mbulu-Owo and Owo autonomous communities, Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, have called on the Nigerian Army to obey a court order directing it to vacate and withdraw its personnel from a disputed land in the area.

The disputed land, The Guardian gathered, shares a common boundary between the communities and Akpoga-Nike, Nkwubor Nike, Onuogba Nike—all in Enugu East Local Government Area—as well as Amechi Idodo, Oruku, and Ubahu (all in Nkanu East), and Umuhuaji, Nkalagu, and Ama-Azu communities in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Justice C.O. Ajah of the Enugu State High Court had on May 20, 2025, issued an order restraining the Nigerian Army, the Ministry of Defence, and the Enugu State Government from entering the disputed land, pending the determination of the substantive suit. The case was adjourned for a pre-trial conference on September 29, 2025.

Despite the court order, the communities alleged over the weekend that army personnel had resumed “patrolling and surveying” the area. A viral video circulating on social media shows armed soldiers patrolling the disputed land.

In a statement, the Secretary of the communities, Ability Chukwuemeka Mbah, urged the military to comply with the court directive in the interest of peace, noting that the army’s presence in the area was creating fear and apprehension among residents.

It was further gathered that the land has been the subject of dispute between the Nigerian Army and the communities since 2016.

The Enugu State Government, which at some point intervened through a joint inspection, reportedly found that “no beacons corresponding with those in the survey plans submitted by the Nigerian Army were present,” making it difficult to substantiate the army’s claim to ownership.

In its response to an investigative committee, the Nigerian Army stated that it acquired the land around 1970, but alleged that unidentified individuals had encroached on it and were erecting new beacons.