Suspected warlords in the lingering communal crisis between the people of Ishinkwor and Abaomege in the Onicha local government area of Ebonyi State have set the state government’s excavator machine ablaze. The machine was deployed by the state government for the ongoing boundary demarcation exercise in the disputed land.
The two neighbouring communities have been at war since 1902 over a vast fertile land with many lives lost and properties worth billions of naira destroyed.
Conducting journalists around the disputed land, the chairman of Onicha local government area, Prince Ikechukwu Ogbofia, described the warlords’ action as sabotage and a 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 those responsible for the action would be arrested and prosecuted, adding that the state and local government 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 has been on since 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 yesterday 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 choice.
“Let it be known that this act of sabotage will not deter the state and local government 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 was completed,” he said.
He noted that the state government would beef up security within the disputed land to forestall a recurrence of such devilish acts. He said the warlords, who possibly came from the bush and set the excavator machine ablaze did that when the security agents might have moved away from the scene.
