For several days, allegations and counter-allegations have trailed a festering dispute over the management and revenue of Jesus Bu Eze Plaza, located at Coal Camp Spare Parts Market, Enugu, with fears that the situation could degenerate into violence before the intervention of Enugu North Local Government Area.
At the centre of the controversy is Mr. Aniagboso Michael, also known as OZ, who has accused a prominent contractor and businessman, Chief Tochukwu Nzekwe, Managing Director of Toshel Construction Company Ltd, of threats to his life. Mr. Aniagboso also alleged that the Chairman of Enugu North LGA has been making life difficult for him over a contractual disagreement between him and Chief Nzekwe concerning the plaza.
Responding to the allegations, Chief Nzekwe dismissed the claims as an attempt to play the victim and tarnish his hard-earned reputation, insisting that the accusations were aimed at evading contractual responsibilities arising from an agreement Mr. Aniagboso freely entered into with him.
According to Chief Nzekwe, Mr. Aniagboso, who was then a staff of Enugu North LGA, engaged Toshel Nigeria Limited through his firm, Diamond M and B Construction, to execute the asphalting of roads and the car park within the plaza. He said the project was originally awarded to Mr. Aniagboso by Enugu North LGA under the administration of former chairman, Hon. Emeka Onunze, but that Mr. Aniagboso lacked the capacity to execute it, contrary to what he presented to the council.
He explained that his company undertook the project based on a clear agreement covering payment and profit-sharing from all revenue accruing from the plaza for the duration of the contract, stressing that he fulfilled his own obligations.
Chief Nzekwe further alleged that despite the completion of over 80 per cent of the project, Mr. Aniagboso failed to meet his financial obligations, both in terms of agreed payments and profit-sharing, even after collecting revenue from the plaza for over two years. He added that when he demanded payment, Mr. Aniagboso issued him a cheque that later bounced, before launching what he described as a coordinated media campaign to damage his image.
He also accused Mr. Aniagboso of employing “gimmicks” to evade responsibility, including moving from one police station to another and filing what he described as frivolous court processes, all while continuing to collect revenue from the plaza.
Giving his detailed account, Chief Nzekwe said:
“I was contacted by a business associate, Prince David (Prince of Nkerefi), to assist Mr. Aniagboso Michael Aka, who was a staff of the local government as at then, in executing a contract awarded to him by the leadership of Enugu North Local Government Area under the government of Emeka Onunze. Upon assessment, I discovered that he lacked the capacity to complete the project and was on the verge of breaching the contract, as the then chairman had completed the payment of the LGA’s percentage contribution to the project and wanted the project completed and commissioned before leaving office. We entered into a payment agreement and also reached an agreement for sharing revenue after the plaza became operational. However, Mr. Aniagboso failed to honour the agreement despite generating millions of naira in revenue. Whenever I raised concerns, he made promises he never fulfilled, to an extent that he issued me a cheque which eventually bounced. He has reported me to multiple police stations and other security agencies in an attempt to intimidate me. This is his usual pattern from what I later learnt about him.”
Chief Nzekwe said the matter is already before the High Court of Enugu, where parties were urged to maintain the status quo, but alleged that Mr. Aniagboso ignored this and resorted to intimidation and attacks.
“Each time I came to check the status of my equipment and work at the plaza, he would attack me with his boys. He has attacked me several times, the last one being in early December. Though we have made efforts to resolve this matter, the last effort being the one made by the Chairman of Enugu North LGA, Dr. Ibenaku Harford Onoh, who invited us to his office to settle the matter. My position remains that Mr. Aniagboso should face the shops he built while I face the park I built till the matter is determined by the court. But to my greatest surprise, the chairman of the LGA still allowed Mr. Aniagboso to continue to collect revenue from the park I built even after we agreed otherwise, an amount that totals ₦1.8m daily. This discovery led me to visit the plaza again in December to confirm the veracity, but on getting there, Mr. Aniagboso mobilised his thugs again to attack me. He then called the chairman of the local government to come to the plaza with neighbourhood people to further perpetuate the attack.”
He said the situation at the plaza was already volatile when the chairman arrived.
“The chairman, on getting to the plaza, saw the palpable tension in the plaza as some friends of mine had also gathered in my defence to prevent any attack from the thugs mobilised by OZ, decided that the LGA would step into the management of the park in dispute pending the next court adjourned date in February 2026. He also informed Mr. OZ that he was free to continue managing his shops, as they were not the subject of any dispute, but that the park, which was the subject of dispute, would be under the care of the LGA, with all revenue accounted for by the team of the LGA and the nominees from myself and OZ. Dr. Onoh wisely asked Mr. Aniagboso to nominate one person who would work with his team, while I nominate one person who would work with the same team to manage the park and the revenue collected. Although I felt cheated by this decision, as the park was built by me and should have been handed to me as the shops were handed to Mr. Aniagboso, I decided to stay calm till the next adjourned date.”
Chief Nzekwe further alleged:
“This Aniagboso, since December, has been making frantic efforts to continue the collections at the park. He has now resorted to tarnishing my image and also using sponsored write-ups to try to blackmail the chairman, whom he was until recently calling to give him neighbourhood watch members for protection. I am waiting to see if the Chairman will hand over that park to him again, as I will never accept that if he does it.”
His remarks, he said, explain the motive behind what he described as a sustained media onslaught against him and the local government council.
From the traders’ perspective, a popular trader at the plaza, Mr. Ogbu Emmanuel, said a potential bloodbath was narrowly avoided due to the timely intervention of the council chairman after repeated clashes between Toshel’s workers and supporters of Mr. Aniagboso.
According to him, traders and market leaders had appealed to the council to intervene, even proposing that the LGA or state temporarily take over the plaza to ensure peace until the court resolves the matter.
He described Mr. Aniagboso as confrontational, adding that he often quarrelled with unions and their leadership within the plaza.
Mr. Ogbu recalled that on the day the chairman announced the LGA’s intervention, violence had already broken out before the chairman arrived.
“The two camps were already locked in a fight which led to a major head injury on one of the boys from the team of either Mr. Aniagboso or Mr. Nzekwe, which later resulted in the victim ending up in the hospital for days,” he said.
He added that the intervention likely saved lives, especially during the busy Christmas period.
“I was there when the chairman drove into the plaza on that day. On seeing the number of boys gathered at the park in support of either Mr. Aniagboso or Mr. Nzekwe, he must have realised that deciding to rule in favour of any of the groups would have led to a bloodbath, as the tempo was high and none of the two groups would have agreed. He then addressed the crowd and said that henceforth the two parties should hands off and allow the council to manage the park pending the next court date, which I hear is sometime in February. So, in my view, the chairman indeed saved lives and prevented bloodshed that day.”
Speaking on behalf of the council chairman, the Special Assistant on Revenue, Mr. Ndubisi Eze, confirmed that the intervention was necessary to restore peace.
He said that for almost a year, the council made several attempts at reconciliation, but that issues persisted.
“My boss even got tired of meeting with him and started asking him to deal with me on any issue he has regarding the plaza, but Mr. OZ would never listen. He would always go to my boss’s house early in the morning or come to the office almost every week to complain about one thing or the other, particularly regarding Toshel. His recent media rampage is because my boss refused to release the park to him after someone was attacked and injured there in December during one of Mr. Aniagboso’s altercations with Toshel.”
Mr. Eze added that the council had received multiple reports of violent confrontations from market leadership.
“On the other hand, we consistently received several reports from market leadership concerning violent confrontations that could have resulted in bloodshed. The council intervened by convening a roundtable meeting involving all parties to chart a path to peace. They were struggling over possession of the park. This led to repeated clashes. Their supporters fought on several occasions, with some sustaining injuries and others hospitalised. The most recent incident occurred in December, which prompted the council’s intervention pending the court’s determination, as the matter is already before a court of competent jurisdiction. The decision to take over the plaza’s management was taken transparently, and I am surprised by the current narrative Mr. Aniagboso is trying to push.”
Several traders interviewed separately at the park confirmed that calm has since returned to the plaza, noting that since the local government stepped in, businesses are operating without fear.
They said that before the intervention, clashes between Toshel’s workers and Mr. Aniagboso’s supporters occurred almost weekly, but that peace has now been restored.
