News
6 Persons Feared Dead In Ebonyi Renewed Communal Crisis
…Those Killed Were Taken To Military Checkpoint – Police
Obinna Uchendu Abakaliki
Not fewer than 6 Persons were said to have been killed by suspected warlords of the people of Ogwor Village in Ishiagu and Umobor village in Akaeze Community all in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The people of Umuobor, Akaeze and their neighbors, Ogwor, Ishiagu have been in a lingering communal crisis over land dispute for decades now with several lives lost and properties worth millions destroyed by the both warring communities.
It would be recalled that early last month, six persons were killed by the warlords who have continued the block the ever-busy Ishiagu/Okigwe express road killing innocent people.
A resident of the area, one F.N Igwe (PHD) in a WhatsApp post made today wrote, “Thank you your excellency,
Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, our peace loving Governor, for your golden silence and great efforts towards ensuring lasting peace and justice prevails between the warring communities of UMOBOR & OGWOR in IVO LGA.
“Just yesterday, a total of 4 persons were killed in Umobor Akaeze. Extra 2 corpses recovered today and taken to the ARMY CHECK POINT in Akaeze.
“Your excellency’s silence and remote actions has continued to achieve more gains with more killings, maiming and abduction of innocent people of Akaeze and Ishiagu communities, and even non Ebonyi person.
“We also wish to appreciate our stakeholders for their efforts in keeping the numbers on the increase. “It’s pertinent to appreciate all those who contribute handsomely towards the orchestration of more crisis, for their grave quest. Posterity shall be kind to everyone.
In an interview with journalists in Abakaliki, a members of the Local Government Vigilante outfits, James Okoro accused the two warring communities of hiring machineries to attack innocent people in their different farmlands adding that the warlords now attack and kill people who does not have any business in the land dispute.
“About 3 weeks ago, the council Chairman, Emmanuel Ajah convened a meeting of all the stakeholders of Ivo local government area and part of the resolution was that there must be a permanent peace between the warring communities of Umobor village in Akaeze and Ogwor village in community all in Ivo local government area.
“The stakeholders went back and informed their people that the two communities have resolved to give peace a chance. The next morning, the people believing that peace have returned, went to the farm only for them to be ambushed, attacked and killed by the warlords of the two communities.
“The suspected machineries employed by the two warring communities invaded a village called Amamaeze which has no business with the crisis and attacked the people there and killed innocent farmers.
“They machineries were said to have attacked the people of Umobor from the Ugwueke axis because the people of Ugwueke and Umubo has a common boundary. They invaded the farm, used machete to cut the people farm. As at the time they left, about 4 innocent person who does not have any link with the crisis have been killed.
“A man who was returning to his village after spending 3 months in the hospital having undergone an operation was attacked and killed. He was killed alongside the mother and the commercial motorcyclist that was conveying them back to the village.
“Unfortunately, some of the people who are being killed are not indigene of the villages involved in the land dispute. On Monday when a search party was sent to the farm, two other dead bodies were recovered from the farm.
“People who are not even from the area are now scared of going to the farm including road users because what they do is to block the road and kill anyone they see along the axis.
“The Umubo people had accused Ugwueke people of allowing the Ogwor people to attack them through their village. The Ugwueke people in response revealed that the attackers came with sienna Vehicles which they parked along the road and moved into the farmland were they attacked the innocent farmers.
“The people of Ugwueke also alleged that a top politician from Ishiagu had approached them to help them to fight the people of Umobor but they declined insisting that they and the people of Umobor does not have any crisis or dispute. From the look of things, the recent killing might be a sponsored attack.
Another community leader from the area who spoke on grounds of anonymity blamed the stakeholders of the local government for the continued killings and urged the State Governor to intervene in the lingering crisis
It is disheartening that innocent people are being killed every day yet the local and state government are not doing much to end the killings. The State Governor as the Chief Security officer of the State must take the needed necessary action to stop the crisis from escalating to what the State witnessed in the Ezza/Ezza-Effuim communal war.
“Let the truth be told, the disputed land does not belong to the two warring communities. The land originally belong to the people of Okwee who were chased out from the land by the Ogwor people and wanted to occupy the land but are being resisted by the Umobor people. So there might not be an end to the killings if Government fails to act now.
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer PPRO DSP Joshua Ukandu said that he was called concerning the killing but was informed that the corpses of those killed were taken to the Army Checkpoint.
“I am yet to get the details of the killings but once am availed of the information, I will disclose it to the media immediately. Ends.
The Executive Secretary of the Igbo Oriental Think Tank, Dr. Kenneth Anozie, has highlighted the vision of Dr. Chukwuma Anyichuks Odii for Ebonyi State ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
In a statement titled “Anyichuks Odii 2027: I Have a Dream for Ebonyi State,” Anozie compared Odii’s vision for Ebonyi with the transformational ideals associated with American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
According to the political analyst, Odii believes that Ebonyi State possesses enormous potential capable of benefiting the wider population rather than serving the interests of a few.
Anozie said Odii’s proposed agenda includes a restructuring of government to ensure equitable representation and development across the different zones of Ebonyi State.
He also listed improved infrastructure as a key component of Odii’s vision, particularly roads and other projects that would facilitate the movement of agricultural produce, stimulate industrial development and create employment opportunities for youths.
The analyst further said Odii plans to make the civil service more responsive to the needs of residents, establish major healthcare centres across the state’s local government areas to help reduce child mortality, and provide extensive ICT training for young people.
Anozie said the ICT initiative could position Ebonyi as a hub for technology talent, with trained professionals able to compete for opportunities locally and internationally.
“Anyichuks has a dream. Ndi Ebonyi need to cue in to that dream for the benefits of all,” Anozie said.
He urged Ebonyi residents to pay attention to the proposed agenda and participate actively in determining the direction of the state ahead of the 2027 election.
Dr. Kenneth Anozie is the Executive Secretary of the Igbo Oriental Think Tank and a political analyst.
…Governor trounces APC’s Oyebamiji with 66,252
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared Governor Ademola Adeleke, of the Accord Party, the winner of the 2026 governorship election.
Announcing the final results, INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, the Vice- Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti declared Adeleke winner and returned him elected.
Ogunwole announced that the Accord candidate secured 511,067 while his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, recorded 444,815 votes.
Adeleke trounced his major opponent with 66,252 votes amid wild jubilation by party supporters and other residents.
Details later…
The Osun State Governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, has won 19 of the 30 Local Government Areas in Saturday’s governorship election, while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Oyebamiji, secured victory in 11 LGAs.Download Offline Maps
The results are being collated and announced, with the Independent National Electoral Commission expected to make the official declaration after the completion of the process.
Adeleke recorded notable victories across several parts of the state, including Ede South, Ede North, Osogbo, Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ilesa West, Odo Otin, Egbedore and Iwo.
Oyebamiji, however, won key LGAs including Ilesa East, Boripe, Irepodun, Obokun, Atakumosa West, Atakumosa East, Irewole, Isokan, Ola-Oluwa, Ife South and Olorunda.
The results announced so far show a closely contested election between the two major candidates, with the other candidates recording significantly lower figures in most of the LGAs.Download Interactive Maps
In Boluwaduro, Adeleke polled 7,118 votes against Oyebamiji’s 7,050. In Ede South, Adeleke secured 26,188 votes while the APC candidate scored 6,219.
Adeleke also won Ife North with 13,879 votes to Oyebamiji’s 9,613; Ilesa West with 16,196 against 12,756; Ifedayo with 7,427 against 6,836; and Ife Central with 21,171 against 15,913.
In Osogbo, Adeleke recorded 36,480 votes while Oyebamiji polled 30,474. He also won Oriade with 21,343 votes to 14,863 and Odo Otin with 18,003 votes against 15,435.
Other LGAs won by Adeleke included Ife East, where he scored 27,201 votes against Oyebamiji’s 18,600; Ifelodun, 21,107 against 18,396; Iwo, 27,085 against 19,660; Ede North, 35,427 against 10,283; Ila, 16,211 against 12,934; Ayedire, 11,073 against 9,910; Egbedore, 19,278 against 11,194; and Ayedaade, 16,681 against 15,719.Design Campaign Signs
Oyebamiji secured victories in Ilesa East with 16,208 votes against Adeleke’s 12,280; Boripe with 19,963 against 12,448; Irepodun with 15,713 against 14,504; and Obokun with 16,120 against 12,023.
He also won Atakumosa West, polling 10,037 votes to Adeleke’s 7,479; Irewole, 29,972 against 10,934; Atakumosa East, 9,936 against 7,872; Isokan, 14,063 against 13,765; Ola-Oluwa, 10,782 against 10,063; Ife South, 14,678 against 13,507; and Olorunda, 24,671 against 23,514.
The outcome places Adeleke ahead in the overall LGA tally, although the final result remains subject to the completion of the official collation and declaration by INEC.
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As of about 4:30pm on Saturday, INEC had uploaded 903 of the 3,763 expected polling-unit results to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), representing about 24 per cent of the results expected across the state.
The emerging figures show Adeleke’s party making an early statement, particularly in Osogbo, where results from two polling units reviewed showed the Accord Party ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At Ward 4, Unit 39, Osogbo Local Government Area, Accord secured 65 votes, while the APC polled 43. The ADC recorded two votes, while ZLP, AA and AAC each scored one vote.
Another result from Ward 4, Unit 13, also in Osogbo, further tilted in favour of the Accord Party, which scored 134 votes against 75 votes for the APC. The ADC polled four votes, while ADP, AAC and APGA recorded one vote each.
The figures have placed Adeleke ahead in the early results emerging from the available uploads, although the lead cannot yet be treated as an indication of the final statewide outcome.
The race remains open, with thousands of polling-unit results still to be uploaded, verified and collated through the official INEC process.
The emerging results are nevertheless significant because they provide the first concrete picture of how the three leading contenders — Adeleke of the Accord Party, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam — are performing in areas where results have been made available.
The early advantage for Adeleke comes after a tense election day marked by complaints over delays in the electronic transmission of results, alleged incidents of intimidation and vote-buying, as well as isolated reports of violence.
Adeleke had earlier expressed confidence in victory after casting his vote, while Oyebamiji also declared that he expected to win the contest. Salaam, meanwhile, raised concerns over the alleged non-recognition of some ADC agents and later reported an attack at his polling unit in Ejigbo.
Attention has now shifted from voting to the results battle, with parties and supporters closely monitoring the IReV portal and the official collation centres.
Following the conclusion of voting, presiding officers have commenced the sorting and counting of ballots at polling units, with results beginning to emerge from different parts of the state in Saturday’s governorship election.
Three major candidates in the Osun governorship election had expressed confidence in emerging victorious as the polls entered the sorting and collation stage, with each candidate and their supporters optimistic about securing the mandate of the electorate.
Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, on Saturday, expressed confidence in emerging victorious in the ongoing governorship election after casting his vote at Sagba Abogunde Ward 2, Unit 9, in Ede North Local Government Area.
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Osun State, Najeem Salaam, raised concerns over the alleged non-recognition of his party agents in several areas across the state during Saturday’s election.
Meanwhile, as at 4.30pm, a check by our correspondent to the IReV portal indicated that 903 out of 3,763 units have been uploaded
Results announced so far:
1. Ward 4, Unit 39, Osogbo Local Government Area
ZLP — 1
AA — 1
AAC — 1
ADC — 2
APC — 43
Accord Party — 65
Presiding Officer: Oyeranmi Deborah
2. Ward 4, Unit 13, Osogbo Local Government Area
Accord Party — 134
APC — 75
ADC — 4
ADP — 1
AAC — 1
APGA — 1
Presiding Officer: Mabel Olowolayemo
3. From Ede North, 007/02/07/29
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