The chairman of Aku General Asembly in Igboetiti local government area of Enugu State, Engr. Innocent Diyoke, has denied allegation that people of the community masterminded the attack on Ikolo community in the same local government on November 27, 2023.
He called on the government of Enugu State to, as a matter of urgency, demarcate the boundary between Aku community and the land it gave to Ikolo Community.
Addressing journalists on the allegation, Dikoye said the allegation on its entirety was false, insisting that his people have no hand in the attack.
“Let me use this opportunity to state categorically that the allegation is in its entirety false. Aku people have no hand in the alleged attack on Ikolo People,” he stated.
He claimed that from recorded history, Aku and Ikolo communities do not share common boundaries, noting that Aku and another community, Ukehe, have common land border which was an aftermath of a communal war between the two communities.
The Aku General Assembly chairman claimed that the crisis started in 1963 when one late John Ezeugwu from Ikolo Community sought for a parcel of land to build a residential house outside the land area granted to their forebears.
He stated that the permission was granted to him on the condition that he will be paying yearly rent of 40 pounds.
Diyoke noted that the man reneged on the agreement after sometime through alleged unwarranted attacks on Aku People.
He said the late Igwe J U Nwodo and late Anthony Nwodo mediated over the matter and resolved that Ikolo people should remain where they built houses and continue to pay annual customary rent which they have been paying.
He further alleged that despite the resolution, Ikolo people have continued to encroach illegally on Aku land beyond the area allocated to them
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