At least 50 houses have been destroyed and 11 people injured in a recent communal clash in Ndiefi-Ishieke village, Ebonyi State.
The incident, which occurred due to a dispute
over communal land, saw suspected hoodlums invade the village and shoot
villagers,
Reports indicate that 11 people were injured
and 300 households displaced in the community. Dr. Nwoba Benjamin, an indigene
of Ndiefi-Ishieke village, expressed his disappointment at the attack and
alleged that the cause of the incident was due to a family's claim to the
communal land.
The claim caused agitation among villagers
who insisted that the communal land belonged to every indigene of the village
and not a particular family.
Benjamin further alleged that some key
stakeholders of Igbojima kindred were behind the attack on innocent villagers
who refused to accept that the communal land belonged to a particular family.
He also claimed that the thugs were led by
Ebonyi LGA Chairman, Chinedu Uburu. Benjamin stated, "The thugs from
nowhere, on Monday, unleashed mayhem on the villagers that opposed the
ownership of the land to a particular family."
Mr. Uburu, the Ebonyi Council Chairman,
denied any involvement in the attack and called the allegations a smear
campaign. He claimed that he was hearing about the incident for the first time
and promised to visit the area to alert security agencies.
Eze Sunday, the Ndiefi-Ishieke Village Head,
called on the state government to provide unity, peace, and oneness among the
villagers. He urged the government not to take sides with any clan in the
affected village and to allow the displaced to return to their compounds. He
also requested that the hoodlums be brought to book.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the
state, SP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, said the command had not received an official
report on the matter.
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