BY CYRIL OZOR

NSUKKA—Enugu State government has closed down about 16  primary and one secondary schools, as well government offices, including the local government secretarait in Ette, a border community with Kogi and Benue States following disturbances by some of the indigenes agitating to be merged with Kogi State.

According to sources, the area which is in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state was populated by Igbo, Idoma and Igalla communities who had been inter-marrying for ages.

An indigene of Etteh, Mr Tony Ogidi is cuurently representing the Igboeze North 11 Constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly.

However, the agitation by a section of the community to be merged with Kogi State started sometime in 1980, during the administration of Chief Jim Nwobodo as governor of old Anambra State, just as the Igbo speaking part of the area had been opposing them, insisting that merging them with Kogi State would put them in minority.

Sources told Vanguard that the matter which had defied political solution was thrown out by the Supreme Court on February 8, 2007 for lack of jurisdiction.

The court in its ruling read by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Alloysius Katsina-Alu stated that it was the duty of the National Boundary Commission to delieanate boundary between Enugu and Kogi States, prompting the commission to the visit the disputed areas about two years ago.

Other members of the panel which sat on the case at the Supreme Court included Justices Umaru Kalgo, Mahmood Mohammed, Walter Samuel Onnoghen, Francis Talba  and Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed.

It was not known if the boundary commission had made the demacartion but the matter was alleged to have degenerated during the last national census when some youths prevented officials of the National Population Commission, NPC, from coming to the area throughout the exercise.

However, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were chased away from some parts of Etteh during the registration of eligible voters by those protesting the inclusion of Etteh in Enugu State, resulting in the inability of some voters to be registered.

An official of the Enugu State government who spoke on the issue on the condition of anonymity said, ‘’it is true that Etteh community is under siege by pro-Kogi youths in the area.

Though Etteh has always been a flash point in Enugu State, the situation worsened as pro-Kogi youths of Ette, possibly aided by the Kogi State government, sacked all Enugu State Government’s institutions at Etteh, including the Igboeze North West Development Centre secretarait, a magisrate court, the education authority, and all about chased teachers in about 16 primary and one secondary schools out of their area.

’’During the last WAEC/NECO examinations, candidates who registered in Ette were moved to the neighbouring schools at Umuopu, Umuogbo and Aji as happened during the last general house of assembly election which was won by an indigene of the area, based on the zoning polical offices in Igboeeze North 11 Constituency (Umunana).

Meanwhile, the work on the Nsukka – Ibagwa Aka- Enugu Ezike – Ette road, awarded by the Enugu State government to link the area with Ogugu in Kogi State had been stopped at the Etteh end  of the road by youths who had threatened the contractors handling the project if they attempted to entre their area.