By Adadareporters
Uhuezeoke village in Okpanku, Aninri LGA of Enugu State, has been under heavy attacks by people suspected to be land grabbers from Umuanekenta Uburu in Ohaozara LGA of Ebonyi State.
According to a source, who pleaded not to be mentioned on safety grounds, the attacks had been recurring for many years without solutions imminent. The incident makes the villagers live in perpetual fear, said the source.
His words: “The attack has been a recovering incidence. Hardly will a year roll by without Uhuezeoke recording an incident of attack by the land grabbers.
“Umuanekenta Uburu and Uhuezeoke Okpanku are yet to settle their age-long land dispute and that is the bone of contention.”
He alleged that Umuanekenta and Uhuezeoke have been on each other’s throats as a result of boundary disputes between the two villages which had led to the death of four people and many injured. The most recent is the deadly attack carried out by suspected assailants from Umuanekenta which left a man and young girl dead on 6th of January, 2025.
Investigations revealed that the attacks are more during rainy seasons, as the two villages battle the ownership of some portions of farmland.
Further investigations also revealed that not less than four people have been shot dead between 11 December, 2024 to 6th January, 2025. Among whom were three women and a young man.
One of the pathetic incident was a girl who came to visit her grandmother on 6th January, 2025 but met her death in the hands of the assailants at Uhuezeoke.
An indeigene of the community, who preferred anonymity, also alleged that the attackers came through Uburu road and carried out the deadly attack on 6th January, 2025. He also insinuated that the attack is not far from the land dispute.
Quoting him, “I think the attack might have been carried out by the Umuanekenta Uburu who have had a longstanding land tussle with Okpanku.”
He alleged that a similar attack was carried out by same assailants between 2020 and 2021 in Amaeze Okpanku where one Ajah Dickson and Chukwu Ifeanyi were shot in their different farm locations.
It was gathered the then Chairman of Aninri LGA, Hon Ezekiel Chukwu, and his counterpart in Ohaozara intervened to get medical treatment for the victims.
An elderly man also revealed that several attempts were made to settle the lingering dispute but to no avail. He specifically said that the people of both communities are living in fear over what might happen tomorrow.
According to him, it would be imperative for Ebonyi and Enugu State governments to come together and resolve the crisis.
He emphasized that if the land dispute was not properly checked, it could endanger the age-long relationship between Uburu and Okpanku, pointing out that both communities are tied with a similar cultural heritage: “They are neighbours who share common boundaries and they also exchange marital vows.”
He also said that between 2019, 2020 and 2021, selected people of Okpanku went to Uburu to meet with the then governor of Ebonyi State, Engr David Umuahi, for a possible solution to the land dispute between his community and Okpanku. He had promised to set up a committee comprising men of goodwill from both communities to come up with a solution to the problems. The result of the meeting led the people of Okpanku to brief the then Enugu governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. He also promised to look into the land crisis with a solution. Since then, not much was heard from both governors as warring communities continue to be a threat to each other.
