Residents flee as Anambra communities clash over land ownership

Tony Okafor, Awka

Three persons were reportedly killed on Friday in a land feud between Urum and Achalla communities in the Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

This was the second time the two communities unleashed hostilities on themselves this week. The first attack was on Wednesday.

The two communities, our correspondent gathered, had disputed a parcel of land on their boundary for years.

The traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Emmanuel Nweke, confirmed the incident.

He said, “It’s like a war, with repeated shootings and invasion of our land by our neighbours.

He said many members of his community had fled the place for other areas for fear of being harmed, adding, “who will like to stay seeing death staring him or her in the face.”

Speaking, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Haruna, said the command had not been briefed on the number of casualties.

He said the command had deployed policemen in the area to avoid more destruction and killings.

Mohammed added, “The command has dispatched joint police team comprising PMF/SARS and other conventional units led by the Area Commander, Awka, Yemi Ajayi.

“Situation was brought under control, while the joint patrol is still ongoing to restore normalcy in the affected areas.

“Extent of damage and injuries sustained have not yet been ascertained.”

He said the CP had directed the State CID to carry out a discreet investigation in order to ascertain circumstances surrounding the incident and bring perpetrators to book.

Our correspondent gathered that the Commissioner of Police in the state, John Abang, had held a meeting with the leaders of the communities last week where he enjoined the feuding parties to explore legal options to resolve their differences.