The Police Command in Ebonyi State has confirmed the beheading of a middle-aged man, Dick Nnachi, in Oso-Edda, Edda Local Government Area of the state.
Joshua Ukandu, the police spokesperson in Ebonyi, confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
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NAN reports that the Oso-Edda and Amasiri communities in Afikpo Local Government Area have been engaged in a long-standing communal conflict over land ownership.
Mr Ukandu, a deputy superintendent of police, condemned the Thursday killing, describing it as “wicked and inhumane.”
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“We are aware of the incident and our men have been deployed to the disputed area,” he said, adding that the police were investigating the killing and would bring the killers to justice.
The spokesperson assured residents of the police effort to restore peace and prevent further escalation of violence in the region.
“I remember the Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has declared the area a buffer zone.
“My advice to the warring communities is to avoid the areas that have been declared a buffer zone by security agencies and the government,” Mr Ukandu added.
Ebonyi has a history of deadly communal conflicts, with some of them going on for decades.
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In April this year, four people were killed in a renewed land dispute between the people of Ndukwe Community, Amasiri in Afikpo and the neighbouring Okporojo in Osso Edda.
Houses and properties worth millions were destroyed in the hostilities in the decade-long crisis between the two communities.
PREMIUM TIMES did a detailed investigation in 2022 to trace how an ancient conflict resulted in the sacking of an entire community from their ancestral land in Ebonyi.
