By Tony Okafor, Awka
One person has been confirmed killed and scores of villagers injured in a fresh communal land dispute between Amaeze Aguleri and Umuoba Anam communities in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Unconfirmed reports had it that a microfinance bank in Aguleri was set ablaze during the clash.
However, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, dismissed the report.
The latest clash is believed to be connected to a longstanding land dispute between the two communities, which dates back to 1999 and had previously attracted the intervention of the then administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to accounts surrounding the dispute, Amaeze Aguleri had decades ago given a portion of its land to Umuoba Anam on trust. It was later alleged that the Umuoba Anam community began laying claim to ownership of the disputed land.
The state Police Command confirmed that one person was killed, while scores of people sustained various degrees of injury.
The Command also said that officers and men had been deployed to the area to maintain peace and ensure law and order.
Meanwhile, former member of the House of Representatives for Anambra East and West Federal Constituency and 2027 All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Chief Chinedu Obidigwe, has intervened in the dispute and commenced dialogue with the leadership of the two warring communities.
In a statement from his office, Obidigwe decried the latest clash, noting that “war is an ill wind that blows no one any good.”
He said: “My brothers and sisters, I am deeply concerned and saddened by the disturbing developments arising from the dispute between Amaeze Aguleri and Umuoba Anam, including reports of casualties. My heart goes out to every family and individual affected.
“I passionately appeal to our people on both sides to remain calm and resist further violence. This matter must be brought to the roundtable and resolved peacefully with immediate effect. It must not be allowed to escalate.
“Amaeze Aguleri and Umuoba Anam are neighbours, brothers and communities bound by history and common interests. This particular dispute is between two villages—one in Anam and one in Aguleri.
It must never be allowed to become a conflict between the entire Anam and Aguleri communities.
“Whenever a disagreement arises between two individuals, kindreds or villages, our collective duty is to seek immediate peaceful resolution—not to escalate it into a wider communal confrontation.”
Obidigwe warned that anyone who escalates the dispute from either Aguleri or Anam, or portrays it as a war between the entire Anam and Aguleri communities, would be acting against the peace, unity and interests of the communities.
He added that anyone with something to lose would not choose violence as an alternative.
He therefore urged community leaders, elders, stakeholders and relevant authorities to intervene urgently, engage both sides in sincere dialogue and pursue a peaceful resolution to restore lasting peace.
“For the sake of our mothers, our children and generations yet unborn, let dialogue prevail over violence, reconciliation over retaliation, and peace over conflict,” he said.
