Four persons from Ngbo , Ohaukwu local government of Ebonyi state have been allegedly killed by Agila people of Benue state.
The Four were said to be members of peace committee set up by Ebonyi and Benue state governments to end the age long boundary dispute between the people of Ngbo, in Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi state andtheir neighbouring Agila, in Ardo local government area of Benue state which has claimed many lives with properties worth billions of naira.
Last week, Deputy Governor of Benue State Chief Benson Abonu , and his Ebonyi counterpart, Dr. Kelechi Igwe held meeting at Government House Abakaliki and inaugurated three committees; Inter community peace committee, Ohaukwu/Ado Inter Local Governments Peace Committee and a Technical Committee with members drawn from National Boundary Commission, Office of Surveyor General of the Federation and Surveyors Generals of Ebonyi and Benue states to end killings, maiming and destructions in the crisis.
However, on Thursday four members of the peace committees who are indigenes
of Ngbo, Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi state, were beheadedwith two injured.
They were ambushed and killed by warlords on their way to a meeting in Benue state over the crisis.
Governor Dave Umahi who was visibly angry, summoned stakeholders meeting of over the killings.
Briefing the Governor in Abakaliki chairman of the local government, Hon. Clement Odah said the killings occurred barely one week after the Deputy Governor of Benue state and his contingent including Chairman of Ardo local government in the state visited the state and inaugurated three committees to find a lasting solution to the killings.
“Each time we meet and agreed that peace should reign, the Agila people will always breach that peace. This one is one of the cases of those cases of breaches and the effect is that it has left in our place, large number of IDPs”, he said .
Governor Umahi while expressing his anger on the killings, said it was not ordinary and accused the stakeholders of aiding and abating the crisis.
“I am not a fool, these things are done by you people. There is no any other person that did it, it is like you give somebody salt, you give him water. How can you say that these people killed were ambushed?. I have asked them to audit all your resources that is from Ohaukwu local government”, he said.
