Land Dispute Leaves Six Dead, Including Pregnant Woman

A renewed outbreak of violence in a decades-old land dispute between two communities in Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria, has resulted in the death of at least six individuals, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child, as confirmed by local authorities.

The involved communities are the Ndukwe Amasiri Community in Afikpo Local Government Area and Idima Autonomous Community in Edda LGA, specifically the people of Okporojo Idima. Over the years, related disputes have led to the destruction of lives and properties worth millions of naira.

On Saturday, 5th April, 2025, Okporojo community was attacked by assailants allegedly from the neighbouring Amasiri community. Among the deceased are a pregnant woman and her unborn child and one Abagha Chukwu, a native of Afikpo who resided in Okporojo until his ill-fated death.

Several pleas have been raised by members of both communities to the state governor Francis Nwifuru, urging him to step in and mediate an amicable resolution of the long-standing land dispute. Although the previous administration of Ebonyi State set up a committee to look into the feud, peace continues to elude the opposing communities.

Chima Ekumankama, who is the current Chairman of Edda Local Government Area, has confirmed the killing of four persons at Okporojo Idima, saying he visited the bereaved community and witnessed the harm done to it. He also praised the efforts of the Ebonyi State Government to ensure peace and normality by deploying security personnel into the disputed area.

The President General of Idima Edda Community also issued remarks to journalists confirming the attack. Comrade Nkama Okoro Agha expressed strong disapproval of the onslaught, recalling a previous incident on 6th February 2023 resulting in the death of innocents and the kidnap of three farmers whose whereabouts are unknown to date.

This 2023 attack was also exacted on Okorojo by suspected Amasiri natives. The President General added his voice to other appeals to the state governor for a more lasting resolution of the land dispute.

Another community leader weighed in on the unfortunate events. Hon. Imo Samuel Oduko, who sits as Chair of the Okporojo Development Union, maintained that the land in conflict belonged to the Okporojo people of Idima Edda, who hired Amasiri farm hands that settled in the area and began fighting their lessors over their rightful estate.

The Chairman of Afikpo LGA, Timothy Nwachi, stressed the unpleasantness of the resumption of hostilities between the two communities and confirmed the presence of security officials to quell the unrest in the area. He also urged the Amasiri people to remain calm while awaiting the government’s decision regarding the conflict.

Another voice spoke out on behalf of the Amasiri people. Maduabuchi Idam, a civil rights lawyer and Amasiri local, petitioned the heads of several security agencies within Ebonyi State over brutality and aggression against his community.

His petition is titled “Re-Emergence of Military Invasion, Brutality, and Aggression Reign Freely Against My Community, Amasiri” and contains complaints regarding the military intervention that followed the renewed clash between the neighbouring communities.

Idam asserted that Amasiri was a peaceful party which had since sought to quash the quarrels in spite of irritation from the Oso Edda community. According to him, on Friday, 11th April, 2025, the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police set up a peace committee to that effect in Abakaliki, which several Amasiri stakeholders attended.

However, their neighbours refused to take part in the meeting and alternatively attacked some Amasiri natives. He also made mention of the insecurity currently faced by the people of Amasiri on the Okigwe-Afikpo highway, along which Oso Edda natives allegedly waylay and identify commuters identified with Amasiri.

All this goes on without the intervention of the Ebonyi State Government, whom he calls on to take action. He protested military action in his community, which he said involved the destruction of properties, arrests and sporadic shooting in Amasiri while ignoring the neighbouring Edda people.

He petitioned the Commandant of Nkwegu Military Cantonment in Abakaliki, which the military personnel were reportedly deployed from, and the Chief of Defence Staff, naming the Edda people as aggressors who intended to illegitimately lay claim to Amasiri ancestral land.

Calling on fellow Nigerians to join him in denouncing the actions of these security agencies, he insisted that the people of Amasiri have remained peaceful and attended meetings in hopes of resolving the decades-long conflict. He described the military activity in Amasiri as “unlawful, … unwarranted, illegal [and] unprovoked.”