Farmer Beheaded in Ebonyi as Chairman Begs for Security Intervention

Tragedy struck in Ebonyi State as a middle-aged farmer, identified as Dick Nnachi, was gruesomely beheaded by suspected warlords in Oso Edda, Edda Local Government Area.

The attack happened on Thursday while Nnachi was working on his farm. His severed head remains missing, deepening fears in a community already scarred by years of violent clashes.

Council chairman, Chima Ekumankama, confirmed the incident during the weekend’s New Yam Festival in the area. At the Nguzu Edda Community Primary School, residents observed a moment of silence in honour of the slain farmer.

Ekumankama, visibly shaken, condemned the killing and admitted he had considered resigning from office due to the relentless violence.

“Sometimes I just feel like resigning to go back to my business just because each time I see the blood of an Edda man dropped on the floor, it pains me; it makes me very uncomfortable and very sad. If there is any day you hear that I have resigned, know that this is the reason I have to resign. I am seriously pained, Your Excellency,” he said.

Appealing directly to Governor Francis Nwifuru, who was represented at the festival by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Moses Odunwa, the chairman called for urgent deployment of security operatives.

“If it is possible, Your Excellency, let us have the army, police, and every other security apparatus in Oso Edda so that we can protect our people. Our people are being slaughtered, and each time they cry to me, I shed tears, I also cry. Your Excellency, I am appealing to you to please do something, please, Your Excellency, do something. We don’t want spilling of blood anymore. Every year, I organise prayer for cleansing of the land, and the enemies will always do that, which is not needed. 

We will do the prayer again to cleanse the one they have just done, but we don’t want the killings to continue. Your Excellency, please, this is the only appeal I have to make today. Do something, Your Excellency, we don’t want to lose any other soul again, all because of the crisis between Oso Edda and Amasiri,” he pleaded.

The State Police Command also confirmed the killing. Police spokesperson, SP Joshua Ukandu, said a team of operatives had been dispatched to the troubled zone. He warned both Oso Edda and their Amasiri neighbours in Afikpo Local Government Area to stay away from the buffer zone earlier designated by security agencies.

The Oso Edda–Amasiri feud is a long-standing land dispute that has claimed multiple lives and destroyed properties worth billions of naira. Despite several government interventions across different administrations, peace has remained elusive.