Ebonyi gov orders demolition of shrines, deities

Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has ordered the destruction of all shrines and deities in the Amasiri community of the Afikpo Local Government Area over a recent violent conflict.

He gave the order on Friday in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Monday Uzor after an enlarged state security meeting on Thursday.

Amasiri was recently involved in a renewed land dispute with neighbouring Okporojo, in the Oso community of the Edda Local Government Area.

The dispute led to several deaths and the destruction of several properties.

The killings assumed a gruesome dimension with the attackers beheading four of the victims and escaping with the severed heads.

Nwifuru had imposed sanctions on Amasiri, which included the sacking of its political appointees, the dethronement of its traditional rulers, the placement of a curfew, and the closure of schools, among others.

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The governor had insisted at several fora that punitive measures should be sustained on the community until the severed heads are returned and perpetrators of the dastardly act arrested.

Nwifuru directed that stakeholders of Amasiri show the government and security agencies the locations of the shrines and deities.

“The state government has constituted a 19-member committee to demarcate the disputed boundary between the Okporojo and Amasiri communities.

“The demarcation has become expedient since the two parties had signed an agreement to that effect.

“The committee is headed by the State Commissioner for Border and Conflict Resolution, Prof. Paul Nwobashi, and includes the surveyor general of the state and the commissioner for lands and survey, among others,” he said.

He further stated that the curfew imposed on the Amasiri community remains in force until the severed heads of the victims of the Okporojo killings are recovered”.

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