Suspected warlords in the lingering communal crisis between the people of Ishinkwor and Abaomege in Onicha local government area of Ebonyi State have set a government-owned excavator ablaze.
Our correspondent reports that the excavator was deployed by the State Government for the ongoing boundary demarcation exercise in the disputed land.
The two neighbouring communities have been at war for many years over a vast fertile land with many lives lost and properties worth billions of naira destroyed.
Conducting journalists round the disputed land, the chairman of Onicha local government area of the State, Prince Ikechukwu Ogbofia, described the action of the warlords as sabotage and calculated attempt to disrupt the peace process achieved by the State Government.
Prince Ogbofia, represented by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Local Government Area, Mr. Omekanaya Orogwu, maintained that the those responsible for the action would be arrested and prosecuted, adding that the State and local governments would not tolerate such sabotage and criminal acts.
It would be recalled that the State governor, Francis Nwifuru, had set up a committee to resolve the crisis. The committee issued a white paper and recommended demarcation of the communities as a lasting solution to the crisis.
The demarcation had been on since beginning of this year until Tuesday this week when one of the excavators carrying out the exercise was burnt by suspected warlords.
Journalists, soldiers and the local government officials visited the scene on Thursday and saw the excavator that was burnt.
Chief Ogbofia alleged that the incident occurred one week after one of the warring communities threatened to destroy the equipment being used in the demarcation if it was not done according to their dictates.
“Let it be known that this act of sabotage will not deter the State and local governments from ensuring the completion of the demarcation exercise. Rather than weaken us, this act will even propel us the more to continue the demarcation, it will definitely strengthen the exercise.
“There is no amount of threat, there is no amount of sabotage that will stop the ongoing demarcation of the communities because to us as a government, that will bring permanent solutions to that age-old war. Government will take another measure to ensure that the demarcation is completed.”
He noted that the State Government will beef up security within the disputed land to forestall a reoccurrence of such act. The warlords who possibly came from the bush and set the excavator ablaze did that when the security agents might have moved away from the scene.
