Otuocha

Otuocha // ^ⓘ is a populated town in Nigeria and serves as the headquarters of Anambra East Local Government Area in Anambra State, Nigeria. It previously functioned as a divisional headquarters of the Anambra Divisional Council during the First Republic of Nigeria (1963–1966). Otuocha was situated on the northern flank of Biafra, a short-lived secessionist state, and was considered one of its food baskets due to its large market during the Nigerian Civil War. It is also regarded as the oldest local government headquarters in the former Anambra area before the 1991 administrative restructuring, which resulted in the creation of the present Anambra East, Anambra West, Oyi, and Ayamelum local government areas.

Otuocha has a sizeable population and attracts people from different ethnic groups in Nigeria. These include not only the Igbo natives of Aguleri and the Umueri community, regarded as the landowners, but also people from other ethnic groups such as the Igala and Ijaw. According to oral tradition from Umueri, the area now known as Otuocha was formerly called "Otu-Oche" and served as a farmstead for the people of Aguleri and the ugwu na-Adegbe Village of the ancient Aguleri Kingdom.