Clash in Onitsha: NIWA, Onitsha South Officials Tangle Over Market Control, Injuries Reported

 

What began as a routine day in two bustling Onitsha markets—Ndende and Oseokwodu—escalated into a dramatic confrontation between federal and local authorities, leaving two local government staff injured and two security personnel briefly arrested. The incident, which unfolded in Anambra State's Onitsha South Local Government Area, is the latest episode in a deepening power tussle between the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the local administration over land and revenue rights.

According to eyewitnesses and officials of Onitsha South LGA, the incident occurred when NIWA officials, accompanied by a contingent of security personnel from Lokoja, Kogi State—including naval officers and police operatives—stormed the two markets in a bid to assert federal ownership over the properties.

The presence of NIWA operatives reportedly alarmed market stakeholders, prompting the Local Government contractor in charge of the markets to notify Mayor Emeka Orji, chairman of Onitsha South LGA. The Chairman swiftly dispatched his secretary, Mr. Paul Onuachalla, along with several council representatives to investigate.

However, what should have been a fact-finding mission took a violent turn. Upon arrival at the markets, the delegation from the council was allegedly attacked by NIWA security operatives. In the scuffle, two LGA staff members sustained injuries of varying degrees. Furthermore, two local government security operatives were taken into custody by the NIWA team, though they were later released before the federal delegation left the area.

In a strongly worded reaction, Mr. Onuachalla condemned the actions of NIWA, describing their operation as unlawful and disruptive. He maintained that the markets fall squarely under the jurisdiction of the Onitsha South Local Government, and questioned NIWA’s authority in claiming ownership or interfering with the collection of market revenues.

"NIWA has consistently overstepped its bounds in Onitsha South. This time, their conduct was not only aggressive but entirely illegal,” said Onuachalla. “They assaulted our staff and arrested our security operatives without any legal mandate. Even the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and local security agencies were unaware of their presence. It was a clandestine operation.”

He further referenced a ruling by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Awka, which he claimed favored Lake Petroleum Ltd—suggesting that federal authority had previously been curtailed in similar disputes in the area.

In response to the allegations, NIWA’s Area Manager, Mr. Suleiman Nicholas, offered a sharply contrasting narrative. According to him, his team was on a routine inspection of what he described as “NIWA Right of Way” along Niger Street in Onitsha, a property that has been the subject of ongoing legal disputes.

He revealed that their mission followed a recent arrest of one Mr. Orji Kelechukwu, a 54-year-old man currently facing prosecution for allegedly encroaching on NIWA-designated land without permission. Nicholas stated that Onitsha South officials attempted to disrupt their inspection, prompting a defensive response from NIWA's naval and police team.

“When they tried to attack us, our security had to act. Two of them were detained and later released. Their Chairman, Emeka Orji, arrived with a group known as ‘Operation Udo Ga Achi, Agunechemba,’ clearly to intimidate us,” Nicholas said.

“But when he saw the naval personnel on ground, he never came down from his white Hummer. If he truly believed he had legitimate claims to the land, he should have confronted us with evidence. Instead, he drove away.”

As tensions continue to simmer between federal and local authorities over land and market management rights in Onitsha, this latest incident underscores a growing pattern of overlapping jurisdiction and confrontational enforcement. Market leaders and local residents are now left in a state of uncertainty, as questions loom over who truly controls the economic heart of the city.

With injured staff and clashing authorities, stakeholders are calling for clarity and calm—before the next confrontation turns even more chaotic.