4 killed in renewed Ebonyi boundary dispute despite government buffer zone

Four persons have been killed in a renewed boundary dispute involving two communities in the Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the land dispute is between the Ogwor and Umuobor villages, who have been fighting over a land called, “Elueke” in the area.

The Ebonyi government declared the disputed land a “buffer zone” earlier in January and ordered both villages to avoid it.

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Chinasa Okorie, the coordinator of Akaeze Development Centre, confirmed the incident to newsmen on Thursday in Abakaliki, describing the killing as “wicked.”

Among the four persons killed, three were said to be part of a contingent that entered the disputed land to harvest yams on Wednesday while a woman was killed on Monday, he said.

Okorie pleaded with the communities to remain peaceful and avoid any act capable of escalating the dispute.

The government has declared it a buffer zone, so nobody is allowed to enter the land, the coordinator added.

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SP Joshua Ukandu, the spokesman of the police command in the state, however, said the command was only aware of the killing of a woman on February 17.

We know about the incident involving the killing of a woman on February 17.

That is the one we have the information. The command is investigating the matter.

Officers and men have been deployed to the area, Ukandu said.

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