Eleven persons are feared to have been killed on Wednesday when armed men suspected to be warlords attacked the residents of Inikiri Effium community in Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi State.

The people of Effium and Ezza Effium communities in the local government, have been at daggers-drawn since January 2021 leading to loss of lives and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.

As a result, some soldiers who were deployed to the community for peacekeeping and were also abducted have not been seen till date.

LEADERSHIP gathered that victims of the attack include children between the ages 2 and 12 years as well as a pregnant woman who were massacred by the armed persons who invaded the community.

A resident of the area, Pastor Freeman Nwonu told LEADERSHIP that the assailants invaded the community at about 2 pm and shot sporadically till 6 pm without a challenge from the soldiers stationed in the area.

Nwonu also said that a health center built for the community by an international organisation and about 30 residential houses were razed during the invasion.

“Yesterday being 1st May, 2024, Uffium warlords attacked our people from 2 pm till 6pm and they killed eleven persons and the buildings they burnt there were about 30 buildings including a hospital that was built for us by AMURT Foundation, an international organization.

“The most annoying thing is that soldiers that were deployed there for peace keeping didn’t do anything to stop them. They were there till the end of the whole thing and even denied that nothing happened in our community that yesterday,” he stated.

A community stakeholder who did not want his name in print, said the incident happened very close to his house and lamented the killings.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joshua Ukandu said he has not received any information on the incident.