Ebonyi govt exonerates Fulani herdsmen over attacks on community
Dr Kelechi Igwe, the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, has refuted reports that the gunmen who invaded and assaulted the citizens of Umuogudu Akpu-Ngbo Community in the state’s Ohaukwu local government area on Monday were Fulani herders.
Igwe said investigations by the government and security agencies confirmed that the attackers were not herders, as previously speculated, in a statement released to journalists in Abakaliki by his Chief Press Secretary, Monday Uzor.
The assault, according to Igwe, stemmed from a long-running inter-tribal dispute between the group and its neighbors in Benue State.
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“In the early hours of Monday, the Ebonyi State Government received with dismay a violent assault on the citizens of Umuogudu Akpu-Ngbo Community in Ohaukwu local government area of the state,” the statement reads.
Continuing, Igwe said:
“It is hereby announced to the general public that preliminary inquiries have revealed the following:
“For starters, the assault was not carried out by Fulani herdsmen, as some have suggested.
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“Two, that the government of Ebonyi State is in touch with the leadership of the Fulani herdsmen (Miyetti Allah) who denied involvement in the attack.
“Three, that the leadership of the Fulani herdsmen has assured government and people of Ebonyi State that they will not, on any account, perpetrate an attack on any part of the state.
“Four, that the recent attack on Ngbo is linked to the age-long crisis between the community and their Agila neighbours of Benue State.”
Igwe added that the state government has directed the military and the police to move into the community to repel any further attacks and restore peace.
“The general public and in particular, the people of Ngbo, are requested to remain law-abiding and avoid reprisals as the government is working hard to restore normalcy to the affected community.”
