Communal clash claims 1 life, four houses burnt in Anambra

One person has been allegedly shot to death and four houses set ablaze when some youths from Achalla village invaded Umuife Urum village in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The incident, which happened at about two o’clock Monday afternoon, caused panic in the community.

An eye witness, Mr Ifeanyi Oragwuna, said that some armed men suspected to be from Achalla community invaded them and started shooting sporadically.

According to him, the situation caused panic as the entire village ran for safety to neighbouring towns.

The President General of Urum, Chief Mathew Nwodo, said the action was worrisome, saying that Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr John Abang, and other stakeholders in the area, have earlier intervened in the crisis.

According to Nwodo, a few weeks ago, some youths said to be from Achalla allegedly invaded Urum, killing one person and injuring seven persons over a land dispute.

He therefore appealed for urgent security beef-up in the area and government intervention in the lingering land matters.

However, efforts made to reach the President General of Achalla, Mr Boniface Okadigbo, were not successful as his phone line was not reachable.

Confirming the incident, the police in Anambra State, through its spokesman, SP Haruna Mohammed, in a statement yesterday said “On the 22/06/2020 at about 1: pm, there was a distress call that some youths in large number, allegedly from Achalla, invaded Urum community with offensive weapons, and razed down three buildings, damaged other buildings by destroying Louvre glasses and other structures.”

According to him, following the distress call, the command quickly dispatched joint police teams comprising PMF/SARS and other conventional units led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, David Iloyanomon.

He said the situation has been brought under control, while joint patrols are still ongoing to restore normalcy in the affected areas.

Also, Awka North Transition Chairman, Hon. Ferdinand Onwuje, and Hon. Chief John Nwokoye, the member representing Awka North Constituency in Anambra State House of Assembly, have set separate committees to look into the matter and make lasting peace between the two warring communities without success.