Thirty-three suspects have been arraigned over the communal clash between the people of Amasiri in Afikpo Local Government Area and Okporojo, Oso-Edda in Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The suspects were arraigned on Friday before a High Court sitting in Abakaliki, the state capital, on four count charges bothering on murder.
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The suspects, who are all indigenes of Amasiri community, include traditional rulers.
The suspects were alleged to have killed Kalu Dick, Ifeoma Oduko Uduma, Anthony Ekumankama and Eze Orji Ndukwe in Okporojo, Oso-Edda, Edda Local Government Area of the state on January 29, 2026, punishable under section 319(1) of the criminal code law cap 33 vol 1. Laws of Ebonyi State 2009.
After the four count charges were read in their hearing, the suspects, who took their plea during the arraignment, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Their defence counsel, Mudi Erhenede, made oral application for the bail of the traditional rulers and three other suspects.
He urged the court to grant the five accused persons bail first, while the remaining persons’ own bail will come later because of their personalities and status as women, citing Order 7 of the Criminal Justice Rules 2023 and Order 7(3) rule 2023 of the state respectively.
Erhenede argued that the five accused persons had been in prison custody since five months and that police had made recommendations for their release.
However, counsel to the state government, Chinyere Anoke, who held brief for the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ben Odoh, opposed the application.
She argued that the accused persons were facing murder charges and that it was unusual for persons facing murder charges to be released.
The trial judge, Justice Emmanuel Ogbunnefi, adjourned the matter to June 5 and 17.
The people of Amasiri and Oso Edda have been at loggerheads for decades over land.
The crisis escalated on January 29, 2026, when suspected warlords invaded Okporojo and beheaded four people in the community, including an elderly woman.
Houses and other property worth millions of naira were burnt during the invasion.
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