Unidentified gunmen launched a deadly assault on the Okporojo community in Oso Edda, Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State on Thursday, leaving several people dead, multiple houses destroyed and many others abducted in a violent outbreak tied to a longstanding boundary dispute.
According to local accounts and circulating videos, the assailants stormed the rural settlement on the afternoon of January 29, setting homes ablaze and opening fire on residents. Footage shared widely across social media shows raging infernos as terrified villagers cried for help and appealed to the state government and security agencies for urgent intervention.
Preliminary reports suggest that at least four to five victims were beheaded during the attack and that the assailants took away the severed heads, intensifying the horror sweeping through the community.
The Ebonyi State Police Command has confirmed the killing of four persons in the attack. Police spokesperson SP Joshua Ukandu stated that the slain victims — three males and one female — were beheaded. He added that 10 suspects have been arrested and that tactical teams have been deployed to the area to prevent further violence.
Ukandu also said some victims were reported missing and that investigations are ongoing. While earlier videos and sources claimed a higher death toll and additional beheadings, official figures from security agencies remain provisional.
Governor Francis Nwifuru described the attack as “barbaric” and a “flagrant disregard for the sanctity of human life.” In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr Monday Uzor, the governor directed security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation and apprehend those responsible. He appealed for calm and urged communities not to engage in reprisals.
“The security of lives and property of our people is of utmost importance, and no effort will be spared to get to the root of this matter,” the governor’s statement read.
The Commissioner for Internal Security, Prince Etta Uka Ude, confirmed the incident on Friday and appealed for calm, assuring residents that security agencies had been deployed to restore peace and apprehend those responsible.
“It is a fact. By 5 p.m. on Thursday, I was informed that some hoodlums invaded one of the villages in Oso Edda and killed about four people,” Ude said. “I immediately intervened and contacted the chairmen of the two local government councils to prevent the situation from escalating.”
According to him, security forces, including the military and police, were mobilised to the affected areas. “As of now, everywhere is calm,” he added.
He called for mass arrests to bring an end to the violence, warning perpetrators against challenging the authority of the state.
“We have resolved, together with the Commissioner of Police, that there must be massive arrests to uncover the root cause of this crisis. Anyone found culpable will face the full weight of the law,” he said.
Local sources and previous reports confirm that the attack appears to be linked to a decades-long land dispute between the Okporojo community in Oso Edda and neighbouring Amasiri community in Afikpo Local Government Area. Both communities claim ancestral ownership of contested boundary land, and the conflict has periodically erupted into violence with loss of lives and extensive property destruction in the past.
Repeated efforts by successive governments and community leaders to broker a lasting peace have so far failed to permanently resolve the crisis, which residents and officials say has worsened insecurity in parts of the state.
Security officials have urged residents of the affected communities to remain calm and allow law enforcement to carry out their operations. Authorities have also reiterated commitments to locate and prosecute anyone found culpable under the law.
As of the time of publication, no group has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, and details about the identities or motives of the gunmen remain unclear.
