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• How killings, curfew brought sorrow, pain, hunger, hardship on Amasiri
• We lost lives, livelihoods, our ordeal similar to civil war –Survivors, community leader
• Govt reopens hospitals, schools, markets, others after 4-month lockdown
From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
After the lifting of the curfew imposed on Amasiri, an agrarian community in Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, the community has become a shadow of itself with residents lamenting loss of lives and the untold hardship the four months lockdown brought to them.
The people of Amasiri, Akpoha also in Afikpo local government and Okporojo, Oso Edda in Edda Local Government Area, have been at war for decades over land with many lives lost and property worth billions of naira destroyed.
The crisis escalated on January 29, 2026 when three persons in Okporojo were beheaded and their heads taken away. Houses were burnt and other valuable property destroyed while the crisis lasted.
Some residents of the community sustained varying degrees of bullet wounds. A week before the Okporojo incident, five persons were abducted in Akpoha community.
Four of the abductees including a female police officer were released by the abductors after some days while the body of the remaining person was discovered in a shallow grave with his hands tied, his head severed and taken away by his killers.
In 2003, a committee headed by a traditional ruler from Amasiri, Basil Enya and Dr. Mike Okoro from Edda was set up by the then state government to find a lasting solution to the crisis after a deadly clash.
The committee presented its report to the government but it was not implemented. The crisis remained unabated with more killings, maiming, destruction and abductions.
In 2025, the crisis took a dangerous dimension. Many people were killed with their heads cut off and taken away by unknown persons. Some of the abducted persons have not been seen till date.
Governor Francis Nwifuru instructed that tracing and demarcation of the disputed land should commence as a way of ending the communal clashes.
As the process was ongoing, warlords struck in Okporojo on 29th January, 2026, killing five residents of the area with the heads of four of them cut off and taken away by their killers. An elderly woman was among those whose heads were cut off by the warlords.
How killings, abductions, destructions escalated
In January 2025, some indigenes of Amasiri were reportedly killed and some abducted. The incident occurred when the Uke Ndukwe ruling council in the community announced community work; clearing of Akanto Primary School, ahead of school resumption for the 2024/2025 second term.
During the communal work in the school, the workers were invaded and some were abducted including Christian Anya (Oyibo) and five others. Many others were injured.
“The leadership of Uke Ndukwe ruling council made a formal report to the police. We kept begging the governor and his deputy, who’s also an Afikpo daughter to assist in securing the lives of the seven men who were abducted. The governor assured the people of Amasiri that nothing will happen to them, till today, they’re nowhere to be found.
“Throughout last year Amasiri people were being killed while working on their farmlands and plying the Afikpo-Okigwe Road. At the time, the Ebonyi State government through the Ministry of Border and Peace Resolution promised to come to the disputed land and make a lasting boundary. Till today, nothing has been done about it,” Nzubechi Idam, a native of Amasiri alleged.
We lost 75 lives in three years –Edda
The people of Edda under the umbrella of Nzuko Edda General Assemblyn revealed that the area has lost over 75 persons since three years in the crisis between Edda and Amasiri.
At an emergency meeting at the peak of the crisis this year, the people called on the state government and security agencies to swiftly apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of violence.
The traditional ruler of Ebunwana Edda, Charles Azuenya who read a communiqué after the meeting, lamented the persistent attacks on villages in Idima autonomous community, including Okporojo, Akanto, Ozara-Oko-Ugwu, nde-Oko, and Amaiyima by suspected warlords.
“Our people can no longer remain silent while lives, homes, and dignity are being systematically destroyed. The situation has reached a critical point,” Azuenya said.
He alleged that over 75 indigenes of Edda communities have been killed in the past three years, with dozens of homes burnt and entire villages displaced.
The monarch acknowledged Governor Nwifuru’s efforts in promoting peace but accused the Amasiri community of disregarding government directives.
“Despite the governor’s personal interventions and calls for peace, Amasiri has displayed a blatant disregard for government directives. Their defiance not only undermines the authority of the government but also places the safety and security of Edda clan, especially Edda villages in Idima autonomous community in jeopardy.
“This naked impunity and violence has created a climate of skepticism on the minds of our people as to what has become of the good intentions of the government about our people.
“Let it once again be known that Edda has, indeed, exercised maximum restraint out of our respect for rule of law and government. Edda clan and indeed our villages in Idima autonomous community can no longer live in the shadow of constant killings and threats.”
The lockdown
When Okporojo was attacked on 29th January, 2026 Governor Francis Nwifuru visited the community a day after the incident and imposed curfew in Amasiri after assessing the magnitude of killing, maiming and destruction in the community.
The visibly angry governor immediately shut down all government facilities including schools, hospitals, markets, and parks. In addition, he dissolved all leaderships in the community. Nwifuru also dethroned the traditional rulers in the community and sacked all government appointees from the community.
“I am particularly saddened. I have never seen this type of development in my whole life. I never expected this type of incident. It’s quite unfortunate but as a leader, you speak less when you are very angry.
“The lives lost will never be in vain by the special grace of God. I am seeking words to use at this moment, so that I will not escalate the war. But I plead with all of you to maintain peace, at the end of the day. Those that started the war will regret it. My visit here today will have a very bold signature on your face,” Nwifuru assured the people of Okporojo during his visit.
Security agencies including the army and police were deployed to Amasiri after the governor’s visit and declaration of curfew on the community.
Some prominent members of the community including the Coordinator of Amasiri Development Centre, Baron Anya, two traditional rulers in the area, Eze Basil Onya Idam and Eze Godfrey Oko were arrested by the security agencies over the crisis.
Many indigenes of the area were equally arrested, arraigned and remanded at the correctional centre in Abakaliki alongside the two monarchs and the development centre coordinator.
The curfew imposed on the community, arrest, prosecution and detention of the indigenes of the area and heavy deployment of security personnel increased fear and tension in the area, forcing many indigenes especially the youths out of the community with the state government insisting that the four heads taken away after the killings in Akpoha and Amasiri must be released as condition for lifting of the curfew.
Other News
Four months curfew lifted
The curfew was lifted on Tuesday 5th May, 2026 after the state Security Council meeting. Briefing journalists after the meeting, E. Y. Kolawole, State Director, Department of Security Services (DSS) said the curfew has been lifted, and declared those suspected to have hands in the crisis wanted.
Also speaking, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Ben Odo said the government has decided to change its plan from delisting Amasiri Development Centre from the list of the 64 development centres in the state following the remorse shown by the community and the acceptance of the remorse by Okporojo and Akpoha communities as well as the appeal by founding fathers and elders council in the state.
“We had persuasion from the founding fathers, and the elders’ council to reject the bill rejecting Amasiri Development Centre from the 64 development centres that we have in Ebonyi State.”
The Head of Service, Rita Okoro said schools, hospitals, markets and parks in the community will reopen immediately in the community following the lifting of the curfew. She said all government workers, including teachers posted to other communities during the lockdown, would be deployed back to the community.
I saved Amasiri from 200 reprisal deaths -Nwifuru
At one of the Security Council meetings Governor Nwifuru said he saved the Amasiri community from 200 deaths that would have been recorded in the area which would have come from reprisals from Edda people.
He said the Security Council received information on possible reprisals and that if he didn’t act fast by putting the stringent measures in Amasiri, there would have been full blown communal war in the community and that Amasiri would have been facing five communities.
“If we go by security information that is before us, it is to their own advantage because if those stringent measures are not in place by today, I am sure they would have been recording more than 100 or 200 deaths and a lot of things would have been happening there.
Tale of woes
On Thursday, May 7, 2026, when Saturday Sun visited the community, the area was very scanty with the entire place in shambles. It was tale of woes when some of the residents narrated their ordeals during the lockdown.
One of them, Onyenaturuchi Mbe who was pregnant before the curfew was imposed, said the curfew hit the community like a thunderstorm.
“I was selling beans cake on the night of January 29 when the lockdown was declared and I was heavily pregnant. Everywhere was totally locked and there was no movement. There was serious pandemonium and security agents even broke our home, collected two cutlasses and arrested my husband, though they later released him.
“Then, on March 3, I gave birth at home because hospitals were also locked during the curfew. My relatives went inside villages, looked for traditional birth attendants and later got one of them who assisted me to give birth in our house.
“I thank God I survived because another woman who was also due for delivery couldn’t make it after delivering at home. She gave birth at home but no one assisted her and she died immediately after giving birth. The baby also died. Before traditional attendants could come to her rescue, she was already dead.
“Businesses have not properly taken shape because people are yet to return to Amasiri, there are still fears and people are still sceptical about the situation in the community.”
Mrs. Eburu Nkechineyere, Officer uncharged of Poperi Health Centre in the community said the worst hit during the lockdown were pregnant women who died as a result of closure of health centres and hospitals by the government.
“Many pregnant women lost their lives because health centres and hospitals were not opened to take care of them. It was not funny at all. You will see a pregnant woman dying and you will not know what to do and the woman will just die like that because there’s no hospital or health centre to take her to.”
A businessman in the area, Uche David who operates a provision store in Ezeke market in the community lamented that people of the area were still in fear and have not returned to the community because of what they passed through in the hands of security agents during the curfew.
“The soldiers were just flogging and harassing everybody and shooting sporadically. In the morning the following day, when they invaded our community, we discovered two of our brothers lying lifeless.
“Since then, we have been afraid of coming out even after the lifting of the curfew and that’s why everywhere is very scanty in the community but we are thanking God for life because he that has life, has hope. So, we thank Him for making us to survive this hell.”
A transporter from Umuahia, Godwin Francis, who shuttled the community described Amasiri condition as pathetic after the lockdown.
He urged the state government to restore the hope of the people by supporting them materially and economically to give them a sense of belonging as indigenes of the state.
“There were no passengers; there was no movement in the community because we ply this route regularly. The curfew affected us so much but we thank God everything has come to an end though the fear and trauma are still there and people have not been able to recover from the loss, the challenges they had. But it is a gradual process and I believe everything will be fine,” he narrated.
Ikenna Mbe, one of the youths of the community said things were yet to take shape in the community because some residents of the area were still languishing in detention over the crisis.
“Before the curfew was lifted, women were saying that things will start going normal in the community when our people who are in detention are released. The women are insisting that our people must be released from prison and that’s why everywhere is still the way it was during the curfew, nothing is happening in this community.
“You can see that schools are very scanty, no pupils, no students, no teachers. Markets are still closed, shops are still closed and everywhere is just in shambles. We lost many lives during the lockdown. Even till now, people are still dying because of the curfew the government imposed on our community because people couldn’t move out to find food to eat, and take care of themselves.
“So, the hardship was very much in this community during the curfew and people were trying to survive. Many fell sick and died. Many were killed by security agencies. Pregnant women died alot because hospitals and health centers were closed in this community and their babies also died,” he lamented.
On his part, a community leader in the area, Chukwu Daniel likened the experiences of residents of the area during the lockdown to that of the Nigerian civil war of 1967.
He said the entire Amasisri was lifeless during the curfew and appealed to the state government to find the root cause of what caused the lockdown and to ensure that such a situation doesn’t reoccur in the area.
Chukwu said he thought that Governor Nwifuru should have taken the same measures he took against Amasiri on Okporojo community, saying that the governor may have been wrongly advised which accounted why only the Amasiri community suffered what it passed through as a result of the crisis.
“In the prison custody, we have two traditional rulers that are there, the development centre coordinator, some youths, male and female who were arrested. In Abakaliki prisons, we have about 34 persons in detention and they have been there for over three months.”
Students, pupils, teachers lament
Students, pupils of schools in the community, also lamented the lockdown and its effect on them.
Idam Ugochi, an SS3 student of Ekumaubaghala Memorial Secondary School in the community, lamented that the curfew negatively affected her studies and her WAEC exams.
“We suffered much during the lockdown, we saw hell. We were starving and there was no food to eat and we needed to write our WAEC. We were trekking to Ehugbo, a community far from Amasiri where we registered for WAEC and we were doing this everyday under hot sun.
“I feel happy that the curfew has been lifted but my joy is not complete because we need our people who are in prison custody over the crisis to be released,” she said.
“Continued detention of our people in prison custody by the government has made many things not to be functioning. Our markets are still not functioning; many shops are still locked as you can see because people arrested and detained in prison have not been released.
“My uncle is one of those in prison custody and he is the only child of his mother and because of his detention, my grandmother who is his mother is very sick and she may die if my uncle is not released.”
Also speaking, Okpara Daniel, a JSS3 student of the school lamented the lockdown.
“Our schools were shut down during the curfew and we were not learning again. We were not attending schools; we didn’t even register for our Junior NECO and other exams we were supposed to write as JSS 3 students. It is now that we are registering for these exams and we have even missed three weeks in this third term before the government lifted the curfew,” he said.
Okpara Agatha, Junior Principal of the school regretted that the school missed two sessions as a result of the curfew. She lamented that the community lost many lives during the lockdown and thank God she survived.
“We have missed the next session. So, what we are running around for is to make sure they write the Junior NECO and that’s why I have been running around to register them.
“The students lost the second term. Second term is done and dusted but we did not do it and this is the third week for the third term. In this third term, we have even missed the first and second week and third week of it has already ended.”
At the Amasiri central school, only four pupils of same family, Enyiukpo Uchenna, Primary 6; Enyiukpo Chinonso, Primary 3; Enyiukpo Chimaobi, primary 3; and Enyiukpo Michael, Primary 1 were seen in the school without any teacher three days after the lifting of the curfew.
Speaking to the reporter, Uchenna said: “I and my three siblings, as you can see, are the only pupils in this Amasiri Central School. Our colleagues are still in various places they ran to with their parents because of the curfew the government imposed on the community in February this year.
“Our teachers have not also come back but four of us are here in the school waiting for our teachers to come and start teaching us.”
