A total of 33 persons, including traditional rulers and women from Amasiri community, have been brought before an Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakaliki over their alleged roles in a communal attack that resulted in the beheading of four residents of a neighbouring village.
The defendants were arraigned on Friday, May 29, 2026, on a four-count charge of conspiracy and murder, according to information obtained by SaharaReporters.
All the accused are indigenes of Amasiri community in Afikpo Local Government Area. They are being prosecuted for their involvement in the violent invasion of Okporojo, a settlement in Oso-Edda within Edda Local Government Area.
The prosecution told the court that on January 29, 2026, the suspects attacked Okporojo and murdered Kalu Dick, Ifeoma Oduko Uduma, Anthony Ekumankama, and Eze Orji Ndukwe. The offence is punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 33, Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State 2009.
All 33 suspects pleaded not guilty when the charges were read.
Lead defence counsel, Mudi Erhenede, made an oral application seeking bail for the traditional rulers and three female suspects. He urged the court to grant bail to the five prominent figures first, citing their age, status, and gender, noting that the other suspects would be processed later.
Erhenede argued that the accused had already spent five months in prison custody and that the police had previously recommended their release.
However, the Ebonyi State Government, represented by Chinyere Anoke, strongly opposed the bail application. Anoke argued that the defendants are facing capital offences involving the killing of four persons, and it is unusual to grant bail to murder suspects.
The presiding judge, Justice Emmanuel Ogbunnefi, ordered the remand of all suspects and adjourned the case to June 5 and June 17, 2026, for further hearing.
The Amasiri and Oso-Edda communities have been engaged in a long-running conflict over the ownership of fertile farmlands along their border. The January 29 attack on Okporojo was reportedly a reprisal by Amasiri militias following an earlier incident in which a retired army officer and his wife were allegedly killed on disputed land.
Armed with machetes and guns, the attackers beheaded four residents, including an elderly woman, and set fire to homes and property, displacing many residents.
The Ebonyi State Police Command later arrested the traditional rulers, who are suspected of funding and authorising the weapons used by the militias. Security forces are currently maintaining a fragile peace along the boundary to prevent further violence.
