Ebonyi Governor Sacks Amasiri Appointees, Dethrones Monarch Over Deadly Attack

The Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has dismissed all government appointees, dissolved community development union leadership, and village heads in the Amasiri community, Afikpo Local Government Area of the state, with immediate effect.

He also dethroned the traditional ruler of the community.

Nwifuru’s action followed the violent attack on Okporojo Community, Oso Edda, in Edda Local Government Area of the state, during which four people were beheaded
and their heads taken away.

The governor announced the sweeping sanctions on Saturday during an on-the-spot assessment visit to Okporojo where he addressed residents, community leaders, security agencies, and government officials.

Nwifuru, who was visibly angry over the killings, described the attack as most unfortunate and said he never expected such a level of brutality to occur in the state.

“So on this note, for the time being, the development union executive and all of the villages in Amasiri communities are hereby dissolved. The traditional ruler certificate is thereby withdrawn all the government appointees from Amasiri are thereby sacked,” the governor said.

“All the government appointees from the management committee down to the commissioner, anyone from Amasiri, are hereby sacked. All the village heads in all Amasiri villages in all the autonomous communities are hereby removed. For the time being, we will do more. And we will show everybody why we’re government”, the governor added.

He assured the affected community that the state government would decisively deal with those responsible, stressing that the lives lost would not be in vain.

He urged residents to remain calm and embrace peace, warning that retaliatory violence would only worsen the situation.

According to him, government actions would be firm but guided by the need to prevent further escalation of the crisis.

Nwifuru revealed that the conflict had lingered for years despite several reconciliation efforts, including boundary agreements between the affected communities, lamenting that such agreements were not respected.

He noted that his visit was a strong signal that the state would no longer tolerate lawlessness or disregard for the rule of law.