A land ownership dispute between Edjekota-Ogor and Ewu communities in Delta State has turned violent, leaving two persons dead and several others injured.
The affected communities, located in Ughelli North and Ughelli South Local Government Areas, have been engaged in a bitter tussle over a stretch of land currently under litigation.
Though information remains sketchy, sources confirm that the land matter is pending before the High Court in Jeremi, with the next hearing slated for April 10.
A resident of one of the communities, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained: “Our people have been farming on the land as usual, but yesterday morning, members of the other community, accompanied by police, stormed the area and arrested several of our farmers. Those who managed to escape rushed back to alert the rest of the community.”
Among those reportedly arrested were Izaga, Michael Itedjere, and an elderly couple, Pa Othu and his wife. The woman was later released due to her age.
Following the arrests, community members entered the bush in search of those reported missing. During the search, they apprehended two individuals from the opposing community and handed them over to the Ughelli Area Commander.
However, on their way back, a combined team of police officers, hunters, and vigilantes allegedly invaded their community and began shooting sporadically.
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One vigilante, identified only as Henry (surname withheld), reportedly shot Martins Ekerhare in the stomach while he sat in front of a building. Ekerhare died on the spot.
In a separate incident, Victor Akpojaro, who was returning from the farm on his motorcycle, was also shot and killed. Several others, including Mr. Karo Jerry, sustained various degrees of injuries.
“As a law-abiding community, we took the corpses to the Ughelli Area Command,” the source said. “The Area Commander then directed that they be transferred to the mortuary.”
It was also revealed that Pa Othu, who witnessed the initial arrests, is currently at the Ughelli Area Command providing a statement.
The community source warned that if the situation persists, “we may have no option but to cut off the road to avoid more trouble.”
Efforts to contact the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Edafe Bright, were unsuccessful. Calls to his phone went unanswered, and a text message was not replied to at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, a security source confirmed that the matter was initially being handled by the councils of Ughelli North and Ughelli South, but could not confirm the cause of the latest escalation.
