Residents of Amegu Nkalaha Community in the Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State are fleeing their houses in droves as the death toll in Sunday’s armed herdsmen invasion rose to 16.
When SaharaReporters visited the community on Monday, hundreds of residents were seen on the road, leaving the community with some of their belongings, including cooking pots and mattresses to nearby communities.
On getting to the community, the surviving residents were seen in clusters mourning their losses.
SaharaReporters was shown houses and properties that were burned and destroyed by the invading assailants who took advantage of Sunday morning, when majority of the people had gone to churches.
Three corpses that were recovered on Monday morning were seen either being prepared for burial by family members.
SaharaReporters counted seven Yam bans that were burned; 25 houses were completely razed; five houses which didn’t burn down, had their windows and doors badly damaged.
Some of the corpses being buried during the visit had their throats slit while some had several gunshots.
Speaking to SaharaReporters, residents who spoke in Igbo lamented the complicity of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian police in the gruesome attack.
They accused the Nigerian military of aiding the Fulani herdsmen attacks, adding that the military and police came on Saturday telling them that nobody should leave the community only for attackers to strike, killing 16 persons and wreaking havoc and for several hours.
They added that there no intervention from either the police or the military.
PHOTONEWS: Ebonyi Residents Flee Community As Death Toll From Herdsmen Attack Rises To 16 pic.twitter.com/Mp2qci1l1i
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) February 3, 2025
After the carnage, they said Nigerian Army troops and some policemen were sent to the community to condole with the residents.
“Worse still, when they came the soldiers seized the phones of our people who were making videos and threatened that if they see the videos of the carnage and pictures of the destruction they will come back and destroy them,” said one Edeze, whose phone was seized.
According to him, “After they carried 10 corpses which our people recovered including a retired policeman namely Mr James Ogbu, from different locations they were slaughtered, the soldiers returned and handed back the phones seized from the people.
“Even the deputy governor of Ebonyi, Mrs Patricia Obila, was the one telling the police that they should go for mass arrest in our community, accusing our people of killing cows belonging to the Fulani herdsmen. Till now, she hasn’t visited the community.”
Edeze regretted that the government only raised its voice when a community is accused of killing cows but will remain silent when “our farms and crops are destroyed by the same cows.”
“If a cow is reportedly killed in a community, is it not the duty of the security agencies to investigate it and fish out the killer? Why would the entire community collectively be punished? After the police extortion for bail and payment for the cow, they will send Fulani militias to invade and slaughter the people who probably knew nothing and the attackers would raze the community.”
He gave the names of those killed as “Simon Ogbuabor, Nnaji Nwa Omebe, James Ogbu retired police officer, Alloy Nnaji aka Eze Nwata, Amos Ogbu, Alfred Igwurube, an Assistant Pastor of Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry and his principal Pastor Ibam.”
Others are “Idenyi Ebe, Okechukwu Ogbuzuru, Eze Obeagu, Omebe Ogbu, Samuel Nnaji Ede, Obeagu Ogenyi, Nnaji Ebe still missing and Nnaji Okwor still missing. Joseph Ebe from another village Umulesha was also killed.”
Mrs Ogbu clementina, while speaking to SaharaReporters, lamented why security agencies didn’t come until after the assailants had gone.
She said: “On Sunday being yesterday we were preparing to go to church, suddenly, we started hearing gunshots. Then some had already gone to churches for Sunday service, while some had also gone to their farms. The gunshots were coming from all the directions. We were in a state of confusion and some of us entered the bushes and hide. Shortly, we started seeing rising thick smokes in the sky. Our houses, food bans and our wears were completely burned.
“We slept in the bushes and now we have no house, no food, in short nothing left to live on. I am family haven’t eaten anything since yesterday. We need help from anywhere.”
Elder Simon Idenyi, who also spoke during the visit accused the military and police of aiding the atrocities of the herdsmen in the community and other parts they have attacked.
He narrated, “What happened is that on February 1st, officials of the state government with the military and police authorities came to us that they want to make peace with us and Fulani Herdsmen. After discussions with the elders of the community including women, they told us that the problem we had with the Fulani herdsmen had been resolved. They encouraged us not to leave our houses that the government and security agencies are here to protect us. They assured us that nothing would happen to us.
“Regrettably, at about 9:30am strange faces we came to understand were Fulani herdsmen wielding AK-47 rifles and machetes surrounded the community and started killing anyone on sight and burning houses randomly. There was no security agents in sight while the carnage lasted. The attack started around 9:30 am and they left the community around 3:30 pm and no single security agent came until around 5pm.
“The assailants entered every nook and cranny of the community and even church. They killed two inside the church. They burned our houses, at least 25 houses despite the military and state government assured us of protection and support, that we shouldn’t leave our community.
“Hours after the carnage the soldiers came and told us sorry for the loss and later left. They took 10 corpses we have recovered to the morgue and still looking for more five people in bushes,” he narrated.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters reported earlier on Monday that the Nigeria Police Force confirmed that the security operatives had recovered 10 bodies of people killed in the community.
The Command’s spokesperson, Joshua Ukandu, who confirmed the attack in a statement on Sunday, stated that the police were currently investigating the incident, adding that normalcy had returned to the area.
“Several houses were also burnt selectively in the area, and other properties destroyed. Upon receipt of the information, we drafted police operatives to the area.
“We are currently investigating the incident while normalcy has returned to the area,” the PPRO stated.
“We also recovered 10 corpses from the area. At the moment, our personnel are there, and normalcy is returning to the area,” Ukandu had added.
