The crisis of ownership of a riverine community in Edo State between Benin in Obazuwa community in Ovia north-east local government area and Ijaw over a disputed area called Iko by the Benin and Ikoro by Ijaw has claimed one life.
The oldest man in the community, known as Odinwere in Benin dialect, Pa Agidi Roland, is hospitalised as a result of the injuries inflicted on him in the course of the crisis.
The issue escalated as the two ethnic groups charged at each other, leaving one person, identified as Pa William Amuawosa, reportedly killed.
A short video of the crisis, released to the social media space, on Monday, showed that beside the dead and the wounded, some buildings and a vehicle were equally damaged, just as carcasses of animals littered the area, with the background voice of the narrator saying the scene was part of Obazuwa community, claimed to have been attacked by the Ijaw.
“Look at what the Ijaw have done to us in Obazuwa, they say they are the owners of this land in Benin, we don’t know what we have done to them, they carried guns and came in through waterside and started shooting at people and scattered, destroyed houses and burnt them,” the voice narrated in the video.
“They have been disturbing us for a long time. We want the state government, the federal government to come to our rescue. They have pursued our people, including elderly ones out of their houses,” the narrator added.
Reacting to the incident and the claim that the Ijaw attacked the village, the chairman, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Olodiama Clan, Samuel Ebiwana, denied the allegations even as he claimed that three members of the Ijaw community are missing.
“These same Obazuwa people attacked policemen on duty, my community was also destroyed by these people. They beat up vigilantes that even helped the police and after that, they came back with their youths to chase our people down to the river.
“We are not aware of what they are saying. We did not attack them; they are the people that attacked us. As I speak to you, three of our youths are still missing, we can’t find them and we are still searching for them,” Ebiwana said.
When contacted, Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bello Kontongs, said he was yet to get a detailed briefing from the Divisional Police Officer in the area and so could not confirm the incident.
