The Ebonyi government invites the assistance of the military in its bid to restore peace in the crisis-ridden Ishielu Local Government Area of the state
By Jude Orji /Abakaliki
On 4 November, 2008, Lt. Col. Simon Gara, Commandant of the Nkwagu Military Cantonment, Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi state, paid a visit to the Governor, Martins Elechi, to brief him on efforts made so far by the military to restore peace to the state. Ebonyi, in recent times, has witnessed a rash of violence, arson and killings, prompting the Governor to seek the assistance of the military.
During the visit, Lt. Col. Gara handed over to the Governor, weapons and ammunition seized by soldiers of the cantonment in their sustained raids on the hideouts of hoodlums in the state. They included 17 dane guns, four locally made pistols, one pump action rifle, six single barrel guns, three spears, one jackknife and five magazines. Others were one LAN gun, 463 rounds of .6mm bullets and 32 rounds of .762 bullets.
The collaboration between the state government and the soldiers became necessary because the state had been plagued by communal clashes in Akpoha, Afikpo North Local Government; Ishiagu community in Ivo Local Government; Echara and Ekpa-Omaka communities in Ikwo Local Government; Ngbo in Ohaukwu and Ededeagu community of Ebonyi Local Government Area. The situation was worsened by some armed robbery attacks on banks in Afikpo and Onueke, leading to multiple loss of life.
Perhaps most violent and pathetic of the communal clashes was that between Ezillo and Ezza-Ezillo communities in Ishielu Local Government Area. The arson and killings which broke out on 10 May this year over a piece of land, effectively ended the peace hitherto enjoyed by both communities for almost 80 years.Though the intensity of the violence shocked security agencies in the state, it was a crisis waiting to happen. Seventy-eight years ago, Ezillo invited the Ezza-Ezillo to assist them fight their Ngbo neighbours over a parcel of land. But when their hosts asked them to leave, the Ezza-Ezillo resisted. The simmering animosity eventually exploded on 10 May, with the two sides killing and maiming each other, and reducing homes to rubble.
Even the visit of Governor Elechi to Ezillo on 11 May did not stop the destruction. And efforts by the state government’s Peace Committee, comprising traditional rulers and leaders from Ishielu, Ohaukwu , Ezza, Ikwo and Izzi, were not effective in bringing peace to the area.
The state government, however, resolved to persist in its efforts. In a broadcast to people of the state, entitled The Tragedy of Ezillo and its New Beginning recently, Governor Elechi announced some measures aimed at resolving the crisis. Among others, government accepted the committee’s submission that for peace to reign at Ezillo, the Ezza-Ezillo should relocate to Egu Echara land, originally allocated to them by the Ezillo people through the customary method of land allocation (imabe agbu). In return, Ezillo people living in Egu Echara were ordered to vacate the area for the Eza-Ezillo.
Ordering the relocation of the Ezza-Ezillo, the Governor said: “It is clear to all that the two groups cannot, for now, continue to live together as before. It has, therefore, become necessary for them to stay apart until when time can heal the present wound.”
On 3 October, the governor gave the people of Ezillo until 31 December, that is, 90 days, to move out of Egu Echara and for the Ezza-Ezillo to move in. Governor Elechi also imposed a 90-day dusk-to-dawn curfew on the entire Ishielu Local Government Area, except on the Federal Highway from Abakaliki to Enugu.
Military personnel were also requested to replace all policemen hitherto posted to the violence-torn parts of Ezillo. “This is to ensure that those who may be foolish enough to test our resolve are handled in a typical military way,” said Elechi.
When the magazine visited the new settlement for the Ezza-Ezillo people, bulldozers were seen constructing access roads to the area. But there was no sign of relocation yet. About 30 people are said to have been killed in Ezillo since 10 May.
An Ezza man who spoke on condition of anonymity to this magazine remarked that the Ezza-Ezillo people might have shunned the governor’s order because government had not erected any structure for the victims as promised. According to the source, the idea of erecting structures for the victims was initially mooted by the state government but was later discarded. “Where can these people who lost all their belongings in the crisis raise money to start building new houses?” he asked. Unconfirmed sources told the magazine that the Ezza-Ezillo people are not ready to relocate to the new settlement despite government’s resolve. The magazine also gathered that since the eruption of the crisis, schools in Ezillo have remained closed.
Did you Enjoy this story? you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Random Post
- January 19, 2009 -- Joshua’s Foreign Friends (10)
- April 22, 2008 -- In The Net (0)
- January 18, 2010 -- How To Awaken The Brain (0)
- October 6, 2008 -- Still Fighting (5)
- May 30, 2008 -- Yar’Adua One Year Later-Impaired By Imposition, Ill-Preparedness, Illegitimacy And Ill- Health—Prof Aluko (9)
- April 27, 2009 -- Quotes; 04 May, 2009 (0)
- November 3, 2008 -- Banking On The Streets (0)
- March 31, 2008 -- Still Living Apart (1)
- January 25, 2010 -- Ado-Ekiti: Shaping A Better Society (0)
- March 31, 2008 -- A Veritable Scammer (0)
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Comment