Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
The death toll has risen to 15 in the Sunday attack by suspected herders in Ebonyi State.
Also, investigations revealed that apart from Amagu, which was widely reported as the village that was attacked, two other communities of Amaokwe and Umunesha in Nkalaha community were also attacked.
Ikengaonline had reported that the suspected armed herders had on Sunday invaded the community, killing many people and burning houses.
The attack is believd to be a reprisal attack by the herders for the alleged killing of their cows.
But the recent reports indicate that more dead bodies were recovered in the bush while some natives were still missing in the villages.
Governor gives security agencies 24hrs ultimatum to arrest culprits
The state governor, Francis Nwifuru, on Modnay paid a visit to the community where he gave a 24 hours ultimatum to security agencies in the state to fish out the suspected killers.
The governor, who was represented by the deputy governor, Patricia Obila, said that the state government was very shocked and saddened over the incident.
“No government is happy to see their citizens being killed in a bloody manner. This is really a horrific scene to behold, if you look at those corpses, they are a younger generation that were lost.
“What happens to their children and what happens to their families? Why do you terminate lives that you can’t create? It is too bad. I’m sounding warning to all the youth leaders of this community. All of you should sit up, I didn’t say that you should sit up to go and fight but to make peace and love in harmony.
”Many people died for not knowing what was happening. I’m telling you the truth. Many of the corpses lying there did not know what was happening.
“I am given this community 3 days to go into fasting and prayers, for God to come and sanctified this community. There is nothing that God cannot do.
“I want to thank the security agencies in the state for their efforts, without their interventions the casualty would have been much more than this. The killers must be brought to book. I order you to fish them (killers) out within 24 hours,” she stated.
Monarch -15 dead, many still missing
Monarch of Nkalaha community, Igwe Thompson Ebe, said he had been mediating with the herders to amicably settle the dispute over their slain cows before the attack.
He said: “I had written a report to the governor and copied security agencies, because the problem started on January 20th till 31st of January 2025.
“We have continued to meditate between the Agila in Benue State and the Fulani herdsmen, I even invited them to my house in Abakaliki to talk to them over their cows that were allegedly killed.
“We have even made some arrests to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended. As we were still on the process, this ugly incident of killings took place on Sunday.
“The herdsmen attacked a total of 3 villages; Amagu, Amaokwe and umunesha. We are still recovering the bodies of the casualties. Now, the number has increased to 15, and we are looking for 2 others” Igwe Ebe stated.
