“Civil Land Disputes Found Among 180 Criminal Cases Will Be Discontinued” — Anambra AG Says Genuine Offences Will Face Prosecution

The Anambra State Government has commenced the review of about 180 criminal cases arising from land disputes, with the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, saying cases found to be essentially civil disputes will be discontinued while those disclosing criminal offences will be returned for prosecution.
Nweke disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, September 19, 2026, following concerns and complaints over the prosecution of some land-related disputes in the state.
The Attorney-General said the exercise followed an earlier public notice from his office inviting persons who believed that criminal proceedings instituted against them over land disputes were, in substance, civil matters to submit complaints and case files for review.
“About 180 land-related criminal cases are currently being reviewed by the Anambra State’s Ministry of Justice,” the statement said.
According to him, persons whose files are under review will soon be informed of the outcome.
“We assure that those whose files are being reviewed will soon be notified of the outcome. In the meantime, those lingering criminal cases emanating from land disputes which are found to be civil will be discontinued so parties can proceed to civil courts,” Nweke said.
He, however, stressed that the review should not be interpreted as a blanket termination of prosecutions connected with land matters.
“Those cases found to be criminal will be returned for prosecution,” he said, explaining that the exercise was intended to prevent citizens from being subjected to criminal proceedings where the underlying dispute properly belongs before a civil court.
Nweke, who is the state’s chief law officer, said the government remained committed to ending what he described as the undue criminalisation of civil land disputes in Anambra.
The Ministry of Justice is also continuing to receive complaints from members of the public who believe that civil disagreements over ownership, possession or other interests in land have been converted into criminal prosecutions, and the Attorney-General urged affected persons to submit their complaints for consideration.
The development comes amid a long-running land dispute involving Umuenu and Enugwu Quarters in Umuawulu, Awka South Local Government Area, which has generated competing claims and court proceedings.
Residents of Umuenu Quarters recently petitioned the Attorney-General seeking government intervention over what they described as attempts by alleged land grabbers to dispossess them of ancestral land, homes and farms. They also sought the continuation of criminal proceedings connected with the dispute.
Chairman of Umuenu Quarters, Bernneth Mbolu, subsequently called on Nweke to remain neutral in the matter after a court sitting.
Mbolu said the disputed land had been the subject of disagreement since 1928 and alleged that persons from neighbouring Enugwu Quarters were attempting to take over land claimed by Umuenu families.
He further alleged that some persons involved in the dispute were working with the Attorney-General to take over the community’s ancestral land. The allegation has not been established, and the report did not present evidence proving collusion by Nweke.
The Attorney-General’s latest statement did not directly determine the merits of the competing claims in the Umuawulu dispute. Instead, it set out the Ministry of Justice’s broader approach to the roughly 180 land-related criminal files now before it: matters determined to be civil will be discontinued as criminal cases, while files disclosing actual criminal conduct will proceed for prosecution.
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