Bloodbath as fulani herdsmen kill 25 villagers in Ebonyi

Suspected Fulani herdsmen have attacked Ebonyi State, on the back of the communal clashes between communities.

They truck in the Egedegede area of Ishielu Local Government Area, killing at least 25 persons.

It was learnt from residents that the attackers came in on Monday night to carry out the mass killings, which the police and the state government have repeatedly failed to curtail.

It was gathered that many residents had fled the area, but the Fulani herdsmen continue to terrorise people on the farms and in isolated places.

“Our village was attacked again, and about five motorcycles were set on fire by the Fulani people. They destroyed farmlands and killed more than 25 people. People are mourning loved ones – the community is in crisis. We need help,” a resident cried out.

Egedegede is close to Enugu State boundary communities of Obegu, Amezu, Nkalaha and Eha-Amufu but the herdsmen continue to lay siege to the area.

Sources at the Ebonyi State Police Command confirmed the killings, adding that operatives had been deployed.

Apart from Ishielu, Ohaukwu LGA has also been on fire, suffering from bloody community clashes. Only on Saturday, unidentified gunmen attacked Nwekendiagu Village, in Effium, in Ohaukwu.

They invaded the village in the early hours of the day, killing at least 15 persons and burning over 200 houses, including a fuel station located in the area.

The attacks have been recurrent in recent weeks; on March 9, suspected gunmen from Uffiom attacked Omege People in Ebonyi State killing people in their dozens.

It was gathered that houses were equally burnt and five persons kidnapped from Omege village.

The crisis ensued as a result of a misunderstanding between two factions of the Effium branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, over which group to be in-charge of collecting revenue in the Effium motor park.

Residents of the area said over 1000 persons had been killed in the crisis, but the Ebonyi State government had characteristically downplayed the incident, claiming that only eight persons were killed.

Governor David Umahi had vowed not to free the stakeholders until peace returned and made a u-turn last week, by releasing them with a charge to go to their area and ensure that absolute peace returned.

The stakeholders, in compliance to the government directive, returned home to preach peace to their people, but fillers from the area indicate that their efforts yielded no result, as hostilities between the two clans have continued to persist.