By Amaka Amaka
The Chairman, Aku General Assembly, Engr. Innocent Diyoke has refuted allegations of attack on Ikolo people by the people of Aku in Igbo Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State.
According to him, Aku indigenes have respect and regard for lives and properties and have never retaliated any attacks on them by the people of Ikolo.
Diyoke was addressing a news conference in Enugu on the conflict between the two communities.
“It is my pleasure to welcome you all, gentlemen of the press to this conference. The essence of the conference is to present to you our own side of the story concerning our misunderstanding with Ikolo people and also to debunk the falsehood dished out by Ikolo community concerning the protracted land dispute between the two sister-communities.
“From recorded history, Aku and Ikolo communities do not share common boundaries. However, it is Aku and Ukehe communities that have a common land border referred to as Onuogwu Nwaegbe Ocha which was an aftermath of a communal war between Aku and Ukehe communities in the days gone by. It was long after this war that one Odeke Oshimbigide, a popular hunter from Ikolo-Affa clan in Afa community in Udi LGA of Enugu State came and sought a parcel of land for farming through Lelegu Clan of Nua-Ohebia village, Aku community after fulfilling an agreement on yearly tenant’s customary rights. The parcel of land granted to him is referred to as Ukwuaji.
“In 1942, the forebears of Ikolo community reneged on the agreement by encroaching into the land areas which Lelegu clan did not grant to them to farm or settle. The dispute over rival claim on title to the land resulted to a court action which finally ended at Igbodo-Opi customary court in favour of Aku community in 1943 (please refer to Judgment NO. 1184 J.B. 6 page 226. This judgment has not been appealed against by Ikolo community till date.
“Tthe beginning of the crisis, In 1963, one late John Ezugwu from Ikolo community came and sought for a parcel of land to build a residential house outside the land area granted to their forebears. The permission was granted to him on the condition that he would be paying yearly rent of 40 pounds. He was paying this amount till 1971/2 when he now reneged on the subsisting agreement through unwarranted attacks on Aku people. Late Igwe J.U. Nwodo and late Anthony Nwodo mediated over the matter and resolved as follows:
A. “That Ikolo people should remain where they had built houses (i.e. John Ezugwu’s residential compound)
B. “That Onuogwu Nwegbe Ocha is the recognized boundary between Ukehe and Aku.
C. “That Ikolo Community should continue to pay the annual customary rent which they had been paying.
“The arbitral award report was communicated to Aku and Ikolo communities vide a letter ref. JUN/14/VOL.1/4 dated 18th April, 1978.
“Despite this resolution, the Ikolo people continue to encroach illegally on Aku land beyond the area allocated to them. They did this through violent disposition by attacking our people repeatedly. In 1980, Ikolo people attacked late Augustine Agu family compound and killed the wife and inflicted several degrees of bodily injuries on other Agu’s family members.
“The Ikolo killer, Offor Nwugwu, was sentenced to prison for over 4 years before he was released. Accordingly, they continued unabated encroaching on our land and attacking Aku people.
“On 18th November, 2017, they invaded the poultry farm of Hon. Ogbons Idike during which period they destroyed all the items in the poultry farm estimated at about one hundred million naira. The principal actors who were arrested by the police were taken to Abuja where they were jailed for 3 years.
“Between this period November 2017 and to-date, Ikolo community had attacked Aku people on several occasions, raping our women, chasing our people from farming on their ancestral lands, demolishing our several houses built by our people, all without any recorded retaliatory attack on Ikolo people by Aku people till date.
“In the month of August, 2023, Ikolo people illegally built 15 speed bumps overnight inside Aku side of the road within a distance of about 400 metres leading from the local Government Headquarters, Ogbede towards Aku. And those bumps are till to-date not demolished. It should be recalled that in 2022, they built similar speed bumps on the same road and Aku complained to the government. The Enugu state government told them that they have no powers to build speed bumps. Consequently they were asked to remove them and never to do so again. “Regrettably too, they sold a parcel of land belonging to Aku people to Doctor Ezemobi where he started building a private hospital, all preparatory to the onslaught they meted out to Aku people on November 1st 2023.
“On November 01, 2023, Ikolo men and their hired mercenaries numbering about 20 launched an attack on Aku people during which they demolished many buildings erected many years ago on our land. Within the same period they also launched an attack on Hon. Ogbons Idike’s Poultry farm where they burnt a very high power generator, vandalized the poultry farm and stole many animals in the poultry farm with an estimated loss of about N28,000,000.00 (Twenty eight million naira).
“More importantly, many of our people who were innocently passing along the road were matched and butchered like wild animals (see pictures attached).
Fortunately, one of the building demolition victims, Nnabuike Okpeta alerted the Ogbede Police Division who arrested .about 5 out of the 20 mercenaries hired by Ikolo people to attack Aku people. The mercenaries were later taken to Enugu police headquarters where they were being detained for further action.
“It is important to mention that the masterminds of the diatribe and all sorts of unfounded and outrageously publicized lies from Ikolo people against Aku community, including the lacklustre women demonstration, were planned and executed by the immediate past member of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. James O. Akadu and the President-General of the Ikolo community, Chief Jude Odo.
“Gentlemen of the press, let me refer you to the incident of yesterday being November 27th 2023 for which Ikolo people are alleging that Aku people masterminded the attack on them through Hon. Ogbons Idike and to use this opportunity to state categorically that the allegation is in its entirety false. Aku people have no hand in the alleged attack against Ikolo people.
“Let me state emphatically that through all the years Ikolo people were unleashing terror on Aku community, our people have never for once engaged in any reprisal attack against Ikolo community because of our civil and law abiding nature.
“Meanwhile, when our reporter visited Ikolo, she interviewed a woman and indigene of the area who did not want her name mentioned for security reasons, narrating the incident she said “we are not really sure the mayhem was done by Aku Indigene” they are even confused on who the attackers of their community could be.
“One, we are suspecting Aku people. Two, we are suspecting those we hired during our last attack on Aku people as Ikolo people are yet to meet their agreement with them. Remember some of them were arrested. Some from Ohebe-Dim and some from Udi local government. Three, we are also suspecting one village in Ikolo who has been opposition to the condemnable acts of that particular village attacked.”
She also added that it was not Ikolo as a town that is having problem with Aku people but one singular part which according to her, two boys called Ejima Ikolo are those piloting the destructive attack on Aku people over the years.
She also alleged that their traditional ruler was behind the recent attack on Aku people.
