One Killed, 35 Houses Razed In Fresh Border War Between Enugu And Kogi State

One person has been killed, while about 1,200 were displaced in in Etteh, a boundary community which has been a subject of dispute between Enugu State and Kogi State.

The attack was allegedly sponsored by a member of the Enugu State House of Assembly as the gunmen who attacked the village were said to have come from the state.

Based on the existing dispute, some regard the community as being part of Olamboro Local government in Kogi State, while others call it part of Igbo-Eze North local government area, Enugu State.

Spokesperson of the Ette Community Development Association, (ECDA), Abdullahi Mohammed Sani, who spoke to journalists in Lokoja yesterday, said about 35 houses were razed by the attackers, including the palace of the traditional ruler of Ette, Chief Aaron Ako.

Sani alleged that a member of the Enugu State House of Assembly sponsored the attack, “in his bid to forcefully cede Ette community to Enugu State.”

“At least one life was lost in addition to various degrees of injuries suffered by several people. About 1,200 people have been displaced while business centers were either burnt down, vandalized or looted. Robbery and arson are still ongoing in the area as we speak.”

He lamented the people of Enugu had decided to continue attacking the community despite the Supreme Court judgement which mandated the two states to maintain status-quo until the issue of land is settled by the National Boundary Commission.

“The first step to halting this so-called Enugu initiative to take over Ette by any means necessary, is to cause the re-opening of the lawfully established Ette Divisional Police Station, which was closed down,” he said.

Although Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, Elvis Igiebor, could not be immediately reached to confirm the attack on the community, soldiers from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army had since been deployed to the area to contain the situation.

The battle over where Etteh community belongs between Enugu State and Kogi State has been on for years, with the issue seemed to be nowhere near a resolution, as the National Boundary Commission is yet to take any decisive step. The people of the natural resources-rich community were said to have for long affirmed that they were Igalas/Idomas and not Ibos, and would like to be part of their people in Kogi State, pending the decision of the National Boundary Commission. Some members of the community were however said to be pro-Enugu.

As gathered, in the Gazette of names of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Volume 1, Fourth Edition, a revision of Third Edition published in 1973 by the Survey Department, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Ette (Ete) village was placed in the South East of Idah in Benue State, at 07 02 latitude and 07 27 longitude.

5 COMMENTS

  1. I’m from this Etteh community,,,,since I was born Etteh has never been part of Kogi State.. Etteh happens to be a community with different Languages but the Community has been part of eastern region, it has never been part of Kogi State. And the people cause the problems are the people from the Community not from anywhere else.. The Court has ruled that anyone who wants to be part of Kogi should leave the Community and go to Kogi State that Kogi has enough land to accommodate such people