By Abakaliki’s Jeff Agbodo
A fresh border dispute between Okporojo-Oso Edda in Edda Local Government Area and the nearby Amasiri community in Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State has resulted in the deaths of at least four people.
It was gethered that two dead bodies retrieved while two persons were still missing. In the attack that happened yesterday night, the attackers destroyed multiple residences and injured a few persons.
Many people have died and billions of dollars’ worth of property has been damaged in the decades-long conflict between the two groups for agricultural land.
Both the current government and the state’s prior administrations have made unsuccessful attempts to put an end to the conflict.
However, local sources claimed that the attackers in the most recent incident were from the Amasiri axis.
Since then, a video of the attack’s aftermath has gone viral on social media, showing the dead victims’ bodies—without their heads—lying in a pool of blood.
In the popular video, numerous homes that the attackers had set on fire were still on fire.
According to local accounts, two people are still unaccounted for and the victims’ heads were removed.
In an interview on Friday in the state capital of Abakaliki, Ebonyi Commissioner for Internal Security Etta Uka Ude verified the occurrence.
By the evening of the incident, he claimed to have heard about the killings, calling them “barbaric, unlawful, and totally unacceptable.”
The commissioner claims that the attack is particularly unsettling because the site of the killings is not even the precise area that is the subject of a land dispute.
“I was told around 5 p.m. yesterday that some thugs had entered one of the communities and killed nearly four people. The land conflict area is far from the town, so I was attempting to comprehend the real issue,” he stated.
Ude clarified that the State Government acted quickly to stop the situation from getting worse after receiving the report.
The chairmen of the impacted local government areas, the Commissioner of Police, the Deputy Governor, and the Army—including the Women Battalion Commander, who had just returned to duty—were all notified right away, he claimed.
“Everybody was on hand to make sure the situation did not escalate further. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done before security personnel arrived,” he said.
The commissioner stated that the government has mandated an inquiry and the potential arrest of the offenders for prosecution, even though the deployment of tactical police teams and military forces has brought peace back.
“The government is superior to everyone else. To identify the underlying cause of this issue, those responsible must be apprehended and penalized. Everyone involved has to be held accountable. He emphasized, “We are not endorsing violence in any form.
Additionally, Ude denounced the practice of beheading victims, calling it incompatible with Ebonyi culture.
“To behead someone and carry the head away is barbaric. Even our traditions disagree with that. It’s terrible and illegal,” he declared.
The commissioner expressed sympathy to the victims’ families while advising locals to maintain composure and let security personnel carry out their duties, cautioning against obstructing major thoroughfares and interfering with public transportation.
Joshua Ukandu, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO SP), stated that he was traveling to the impacted region with a police squad.
“After we have evaluated the situation, I will make a statement,” he declared.
Chima Ekumamkama, the chairman of the Edda Local Government Area, also attested to it, calling it a horrific act of wickedness and human inhumanity.
He mentioned that the governor’s prompt intervention resulted in the mobilization of security forces to the region.
This is depressing and depressing. How can humans act like animals? This is horrible. “How can people invade a community, decapitate people, and remove their heads?” he said.
