 |
Picture of Nkem Owoh, Ayogu and her children in
front of the demolished building
|
A secondary school teacher, Mrs. Gloria Ayogu, on
Sunday said she would consider legal actions against Nollywood actor, Nkem
Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, if he failed to pay damages for allegedly
demolishing her house in Enugu State.
Ayogu, a widow and an employee of Federal Government
College, Enugu, has since 2008 been at war with Owoh over a piece of land at 9,
Ikpeama Street, Emeheluaku Layout, Trans-Ekulu in Enugu metropolis.
Is this also one of Nollywood screenplay? The whole story
looks like one of Osuofia’s movie starring role. Well, continue reading after
the cut to get the full story.
The widow said she had long reported the case to the
police and vowed to see the matter to the end.
She said her late husband bought and registered the
landed property before he died in 2004.
She claimed, “Osuofia and his thugs appeared in 2008
and threatened me for four years against building on the land.”
According to her, shortly after she completed the
bungalow, which she said she built with a loan, and was on the verge of moving
in, “Osuofia finally made good his threats and pulled down the house on
September 30, 2012.”
Narrating her story further, Ayogu said, “The
property was bought same year my husband died and was registered in his name.
We started developing it until my husband took ill and later died, about three
months after we relocated from where we were living.
“Some years later I discovered that the documents to
the property were missing. I searched everywhere but could not find them. I
went to the man who sold the land to us and he advised that I report to the
state Ministry of Lands. I went there and they asked me to put up a newspaper
publication on the missing document, which I did in about three different
newspapers.
“I first went to the police and obtained police
extract before the loss of document was published. I also put a caveat on the
property so that no buyer would come in case people attempted to use it for
fraud.
“We were
living at Egwuaga Street then, so we relocated to 9, Ikpeama Street in
Trans-Ekulu, Enugu. The land registrar gave me new documents covering the
property and he advised me to be vigilant and look after my land.
“In 2006, Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia and
some people came to ask me who I was and if I was the owner of the property.”
Ayogu stated that Osuofia also asked her if she was
legally married to her late husband, and if she was ready to go to court should
the need arise.
She said, “I didn’t see them for some time until one
day he resurfaced and said I have to stop work on the site because at that time
I had started building. Not long afterwards, he demolished the house.”
Ayogu added that she would not be intimidated and
was not ready to lose the only property her late husband left for her and her
children.
However, when contacted by our correspondent, the
actor denied the allegations.
Osuofia said, “This woman is going to put herself in
trouble. I bought a land and the land is causing trouble between the woman and
her husband’s first wife. They are struggling over the same piece of land, so
why would the woman say it was me that demolished her house?”
“Why is she
trying to scandalise my name when she knows there is a family dispute over the
land? I don’t know anything about the demolition. I bought the property but
they are having problems there, I mean the two wives. Why wouldn’t this woman
go to court and sort these things out once and for all?”
While Owoh insisted Ayogu and her co-wife were
struggling over the land, the widow maintained that she was the only wife of
her husband and that there was no tussle over the land.
When Osuofia was asked to give the contacts of
whoever sold the land to him, he said it was long he bought it and had lost
touch with the people.
Culled from Punch report
No comments:
Post a Comment