Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
The Francis Nwifuru-led Ebonyi State Government has ordered the destruction of all shrines and deities in the Amasiri community following violent clashes with the neighbouring Okporojo community.
Governor Nwifuru issued the directive after an expanded security council meeting at the Old Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.
The meeting reviewed the worsening security situation arising from the boundary dispute between Amasiri and Okporojo communities.
Nwifuru directed stakeholders in Amasiri to identify the locations of all shrines in the area to enable security agencies to supervise their demolition.
“The council has also directed that all the shrines and deities in Amasiri clan be destroyed, and stakeholders of the area are under obligation to show the state government and security agencies the locations of the shrines,” the governor said.
He also announced the constitution of a 19-member committee to demarcate the disputed boundary between the two communities.
According to him, the demarcation became necessary following an agreement reached by both parties to resolve the protracted dispute.
The committee will be chaired by the State Commissioner for Border and Conflict Resolution, Paul Nwobashi.
Other members include the Surveyor-General of the state, the Commissioner for Lands and Survey, the Commissioner for Primary and Secondary Education, chairpersons of the Traditional Rulers’ Councils across the 13 local government areas, and Boniface Chima.
Sunday Oyibe will serve as secretary of the committee.
The governor said the curfew earlier imposed on Amasiri would remain in force until the severed heads of victims allegedly killed during the crisis in Okporojo are recovered.
The expanded security meeting was attended by heads of security agencies, traditional rulers, members of the Elders’ Council, and stakeholders from Okporojo, Amasiri, Akpoha, and Afikpo.
The crisis between Okporojo and Amasiri is a long-standing communal land dispute in Ebonyi State.
The conflict mainly involves the Ndukwe community in Amasiri in Afikpo Local Government Area and the Okporojo community in Oso Edda in Edda Local Government Area.
On the night of January 30, 2026, armed assailants invaded Okporojo, killing at least four persons — three of whom were reportedly beheaded — and setting several houses ablaze.
The attack followed an earlier clash between Amasiri and the neighbouring Akpoha community, during which one person from Akpoha was allegedly abducted and beheaded.
The Amasiri community was accused by the state government and security agencies of being responsible for the attacks.
Following the killings, the governor announced a series of sanctions against Amasiri.
He sacked political appointees from the community, including the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, and dethroned traditional rulers and village heads in the clan.
The government also shut down the development centre in the area and forwarded a bill to the state House of Assembly seeking its removal from the list of development centres in the state.
Public and private schools in Amasiri were closed, while teachers from the area were redeployed to other parts of the state.
Nwifuru also imposed a curfew on the community and deployed security personnel to enforce it, while directing the community to produce the severed heads of the victims and release those abducted.
