The people of Ezza Community in Benue State yesterday alleged that they have lost over 400 persons in the incessant attacks and killings carried out against the community by Uffiom Warlords.
The people who decried the incessant attacks and killings by suspected warlords in Ado local government area of the state expressed regret over the brutal murder of the people by the warlords.
A statement signed by Mrs. Perpetual Nkechi Okafor, the President General of Ezza-Ezekuna Benue and Mr. Emmanuel Chibueze Ngbabu, Publicity Secretary amongst other leaders accused Uffiom warlords in the Ado local government Benue State of being behind the killings.
“It has become imperative to write this in order to put the records straight for the general public to know about the undeserved atrocious activities by the Uffiom people against the Ezza people and the unjustifiable double-dealings of some Ado stakeholders aimed collectively to worsen the already exacerbated aftermaths of the crisis.
“It would be recalled that on the 22nd January, 2021, the ill-fated crisis broke out into a full blown war between Uffiom and Ezza tribes in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
“On the same day too, the Uffiom people resumed coordinated attacks on Ezza Benue People, ranging from abductions and killings of Ezza people in Ulayi, Odum and further extended the heinous, outrageous and heartless massacre to other Ezza communities under Ado Local Government jurisdiction.
“Exploring some instrumentalities Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the then Chairman of Ado Local Government Area, Rt. Hon. James Ogaba on the 11th February 2021, initiated a peace deal by inviting stakeholders and custodians of both Ezza and Uffiom to Ado for “Covenant and Oath-taking.
“To make the “Covenant and Oath-taking more comprehensive and all-inclusive, the invitation was extended to our Izzi brothers and all the District Heads in Ado to stand as witnesses.
“The major terms and conditions of that covenant, among others, were that: that neither Ezza nor Uffiom persons must harm or kill one another in Benue State; That the both parties – Ezza and Uffium – should, NEVER AGAIN, destroy properties belonging to each other for any reasons whatsoever.
“That whosoever contravenes the restrictions of the covenant between the two tribes – Ezza and Uffiom – then, the other tribes in Ado, will collectively join forces with those whose person(s) is harmed or killed to fight the defaulters.
The Community Leaders noted that there is no month that passes without a calculated maiming, slaughtering and butchering of countless numbers of Ezza persons in Ado district by the blood-thirsty Uffiom people.
“One faithful day in Ogebe, Apa Ward, more than one hundred and sixty (160) Ezza people were killed in cold blood. Again, another day at Okpobula, also in Apa Ward, over forty (40) Ezza persons, most whom were innocent children, helpless women and aged men, were killed by the rapaciously indiscriminate Uffium warriors.
“Besides, at Nwokwo Odoke, Ulayi Ward, over twenty (20) innocent and defenseless persons were killed; at Odum in Ulayi, five chiefs were abducted in one day, one killed and thrown inside well, while many more were killed on sight;
“The same applied at Ichari, where one chief was abducted and many killed. Also at Otsukputu, more than thirty persons were killed; at Inikiri, over forty (40) persons were attacked and eventually killed; at Ojiegbe, more than thirty persons were killed; at Anmeka, over fifty (50) persons were killed and lately, Uje has also faced a series of unmitigated attacks where aged men, women and children were shot and slaughtered by the said Uffiom warriors unchallenged.
The Community noted that in summary, over four hundred (400) Ezza persons in Ado have been killed by the Uffiom people adding that the Ezza indigenous people of Benue state have remain law-abiding and are propagators of a harmonious peaceful coexistence between Uffiom people in particular and among other tribes in general.
