The people of Ikolo community in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu State, have appealed to Governor Peter Mbah to urgently intervene in a protracted boundary dispute with the neighbouring Aku community.
According to the community, the dispute has led to the destruction of properties worth over N700 million and displaced over 1,000 residents, forcing them into makeshift refugee camps.
The community leaders pleaded with the Deputy Governor, Ifeanyi Ossai, who heads the state boundary demarcation committee, to urgently intervene to bring the crisis to an end.
Newspot reports that tension escalated recently when three individuals from Aku reportedly went missing after visiting the home of one Mr. Chibueze Anidiobi, a herbalist from Ikolo, on August 2, 2024.
Despite Anidiobi’s claims of being away in Nsukka on that day, the Aku community alleged foul play, leading to his detention by the Ogbede Police Division.
During a press briefing in Enugu, Ikolo’s President General, Chief Jude Odo, alongside the community’s traditional ruler, Igwe Gabriel Ezeugwu, and their lawyer, Barrister Chijioke Darlington Ezeh, said that the situation in Ikolo could be likened to the situation in Gaza Strip.
The traditional ruler, Igwe Ezugwu, also recounted a recent attempt on his life, attributing his survival to divine intervention, while criticising the police for their inadequate response to the crisis.
The community pleaded with Governor Mbah to demarcate the boundary and provide relief to displaced individuals, insisting that these measures will bring lasting peace between the two communities.
“Our hearts bleed; we have been decimated, ruined and completely disgraced. Our hearts are filled with sorrows, and agonies.
“We humbly pray to the Governor of Enugu State, His Excellency, Peter Mbah to kindly order the Aku people to stop the killings of Ikolo Indigenes, and save our people from further arrest.
“We request His Excellency, to save us from these continual catastrophic attacks by coming to demarcate a boundary between Ikolo community, and Leleagu/Aku community.
“And to come to the immediate rescue of the victims of the displaced persons whose homes and properties were burnt. We sincerely believe that with these, lasting peace and solution would be achieved,” they pleaded.
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