3 die as Anambra land tussle escalates

At least three persons were feared dead in a communal clash between two warring communities in Anambra State over a piece of land that has been in dispute for 110 years.

In fresh contentions over the land, the communities, Nkwelle Ezunaka and Osile Village in Ogbunike, Oyi local government area, have been engaged in bloody battle since last week.

Daily Trust gathered that apart from the three deceased, said to be indigenes of Nkwelle Ezunaka community, several persons were injured as a result of the clashes.

Sources said the latest confrontations began following the quest by one of the feuding communities, Osile, to survey the disputed land, apparently to make it ready for use.

Addressing journalists during a visit to the area, the immediate past President of Nkwelle Ezunaka Community and the Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Anambra State chapter, Elder Chris Eluemuno, affirmed that the fracas between both communities had remained a recurring one. He said both communities had remained at loggerheads for a long time as a result of the dispute because of the refusal of one of the parties to abide by an old court judgment on the land.

Daily Trust pieced information together to the effect that the land dispute dates as far back as 1906 when an Onitsha customary court entered a judgment in favour of Nkwelle Ezunaka, stating that Nkisi River was the boundary between Ogbunike and Nkwelle Ezunaka.