BY PETER OKUTU, Abakaliki

NO fewer than 150 indigenes of Edukwuachi Agbaja community in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State were weekend displaced as a result of unresolved disputes arising from land ownership and usage in the area.

The incident also led to the destruction of over 17 houses and looting of properties while a youth who sustained various degrees of injury, is now receiving treatment in the hospital. It took the spirited efforts of members of the Nigeria Police Force to restore normalcy to the area.

Vanguard Metro VM gathered that the communal clash erupted when some stakeholders in the area demanded a portion of land belonging to the Nwobegu’s for the construction of a Community Secondary School contrary to the wishes of the owners who had other plans for the land

An eyewitness, Mr. John Nwobegu, who narrowly escaped from the hands of the angry mob, wondered why the stakeholders of Edukwuachi Agbaja community decided not to use the community land to build the proposed secondary school.

Spokesman for the family and publisher of a local tabloid in the state, Chief Moses Nwobegu regretted the level of destruction that took place in the area, alleging that the act was perpetrated by thugs hired by some political stakeholders in the village.

“One early morning, I got a call from by brothers that some staff of the Ministry of Land, Survey and Housing were surveying our family land. I immediately rushed to the village and found the men surveying the land. I made inquiries  and they told me that the community has taken over the land for the construction of a secondary school.

“I had to come down to Abakaliki to make a formal complaint to the Area Commander of the Abakaliki Area command who dispatched his men to the place and informed the people that it is wrong to encroach into someone’s land without his being consulted. After their visit, every action stopped at the family land.

“Shortly after my petition to the Police Commissioner, the stakeholders were invited and warned not to encroach into our family land. They went back and mobilized the youths to destroy all our properties and send us out from the village. The youths carrying dangerous weapons went to our different houses destroying our buildings and setting others ablaze,” he lamented

The State Commissioner for Boarder Security and Conflict Resolution, Mr. Donatus Ajah who confirmed the incident, stated that his Ministry had summoned all the affected persons including the traditional ruler of the community in order to ensure that peace returned to the area.