The chairman of the Onicha local government area of Ebonyi State, Hon Ikechukwu Ogbuofia, has warned a section of indigenes of the Ishinkwo community in the local government area to desist from instigating crisis and war between Abomege and Ishinkwo communities.
The two communities have been at war over a piece of land for the past 127 years, which has led to the death of hundreds of people and properties worth billions destroyed.
The land dispute started in 1902 and was first taken to Court in 1912.
The council chairman who spoke to LEADERSHIP through the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the local government, Mr Omekannaya Orogwu, said that those beating the drum of war neither reside in the community nor have any properties in the community, so they have nothing to lose in the crisis.
Mr. Orogwu noted that since assumption of office, the council chairman has put in place security measures to ensure that the crisis is put to an end adding that a peace committee set up by the state government brought out a white paper which called for the demarcation of the boundary between the two communities.
He described as false the allegation that the council chairman is using his office to manipulate and alter the demarcation of the boundary to favour the people of Abomege, where he hails from.
Mr. Orogwu stated that the chairman was not yet in office when the peace committee was set up neither was he in office when the white paper was presented to the state government adding that it is not within the powers of the council chairman to influence what has already been concluded and handed over to the state government.
“I wonder how any right-thinking person would accuse the Council Chairman of Onicha Local Government of influencing and manipulating the boundary demarcation in favour of Abomege people. The boundary demarcation is being supervised by the Commissioner for Border Peace and Conflict Resolution.
“The faceless group instigating the people of Ishinkwo community not to accept the demarcation and making allegations against Hon Ogbuofia are the real enemies of the State. They stay in the comfort of their homes in Abuja and Lagos to push the people into another crisis. Their wives, children and themselves are not residing in the community neither do they have a single house in the village but they want the people to continually be at war while they go about their normal businesses in Lagos and Abuja.
Fortunately, since the chairman assumed office, we have not heard of any killing between the two communities. Nobody has been either kidnapped or declared missing as it was the case before,” he said.
He commended the state governor, Francis Nwifuru for approving the boundary demarcation adding that what many governors were unable to achieve, Governor Nwifuru has achieved it. “He has brought back peace to all the warring communities in Ebonyi State including Abomege and Ishinkwo,” he added.
It would be recalled that a group known as Concerned Ebonyi Youths had accused the council chairman of unfairly manipulating the boundary demarcation process to favour his own community, Abaomege, at the expense of Ishinkwo.
The group also accused the Chairman of using the process to grab lands belonging to Ishinkwo describing it as unjust and clear abuse of power and position.
