From EMMANUEL UZOR, Onitsha
No fewer than three persons have been reported missing in Aguleri-Otu, Anambra East Local Government during a bloody clash with its neighbour in Kogi State over boundary dispute. Sunday Sun learnt that about 200 houses were burnt and three people kidnapped, even as property worth several millions of naira were destroyed.
The Echonwa and Odeke people of Ibaji Local Government of KogiState allegedly invaded the Okpali and Okpeze Aguleri-Otu communities in Anambra East Local Government during which theclash ensued. Transition Committee Chairman of Anambra East Local Government, Comrade Chiedu Obidigwe, confirmed the attack on Aguleri-Otu people.
He, however, described the attack as unprovoked and an invasion on his people as they were not ready for war. He accused the KogiState government and Ibaji Local Government of fueling the war, adding: “I am personally accusing the Kogi State government andchairman of Ibaji Local Government of inciting their people against our people, as they have not done anything tangible to contain the excesses of their people. “The chairman of Ibaji Local Government has done nothing to stop his people from invading us, but I have day in, day out reached out to our people not to takeup arms to avoid outright war with the people of Ibaji and Kogi at large.
“We are not interested in fighting the Echonwa and Odeke from Kogi State. They have invaded us and as I speak to you, our people have been invaded at Okpali Aguleri-Otu, and Okpeze Aguleri by Kogi people. They are burning houses and chasing our people away from their ancestral homes and land in unprovoked attacks.
“Two of our people got bullet wounds; two motorcycles were burntwith property worth several millions of naira. As at now, nobody was killed and two people were arrested and taken to the police. “We are looking for two persons from our community and police are aware of that, and the only Army and police around that placeare from Anambra State.
We have not seen or heard that any Army or police from Kogi State visited there.” It was gathered that the two truckload of the Nigerian Army guiding the Orient Oil locations could not do much as they had no brief to quell the war-mongers.