F€ar Grips Ebonyi Communities As Residents Warn Of Fresh Herdsmen Att∆cks
Fear Grips Ebonyi Communities As Residents Warn Of Fresh Herdsmen Attacks 
In an audio message obtained by SaharaReporters, community leaders urged indigenes at home and in the diaspora to intervene and mobilise support to prevent a recurrence of the killings and subsequent abductions that have plagued the area.
Residents of Obeagu, Nkalaha and other border communities in Ebonyi State have raised the alarm over an alleged plot by armed herdsmen to launch fresh attacks on their communities, more than five years after a deadly invasion that left at least 21 people dead.
The communities, located in Ishielu Local Government Area of the state, expressed fears that the security lapses which enabled the March 2021 massacre remain unresolved, leaving residents vulnerable to another round of violence.
In an audio message obtained by SaharaReporters, community leaders urged indigenes at home and in the diaspora to intervene and mobilise support to prevent a recurrence of the killings and subsequent abductions that have plagued the area.
The message, recorded in the local dialect, lamented the poor state of infrastructure in the affected communities, particularly Obeagu, which residents said has remained largely inaccessible due to years of neglect by successive administrations in Ebonyi State.
According to the community leaders, the lack of motorable roads has discouraged regular security patrols and made emergency responses difficult whenever attacks occur.
They alleged that security agencies, including the police, military and Department of State Services, often arrive only after assailants have fled.
“Because there are no accessible roads, security agencies rarely come here. When attacks happen, they only show up days later after the attackers have escaped, if they come at all,” one of the speakers said in the recording.
The residents further expressed frustration that despite the passage of more than five years since the 2021 massacre, no arrests have been made and no one has been prosecuted for the killings.
According to them, security agencies were provided with critical evidence recovered from the scene of the attack, including a mobile phone allegedly belonging to one of the attackers and call logs linked to the device.
The evidence was reportedly handed over to both the Ebonyi State Police Command and then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during his visit to the community following the killings.
SaharaReporters recalls that on March 29, 2021, suspected Fulani militias invaded Obeagu community and killed at least 21 persons, including travellers and residents, in one of the deadliest attacks recorded in the area.
Speaking on the lingering failure to bring the perpetrators to justice, a community leader, Chief Ogbonna Ede, criticised security agencies for what he described as their inability to investigate and prosecute those responsible.
“I wasn’t surprised that years after the incident the police and the nation’s secret police, DSS, were yet to make any arrest,” Ede told SaharaReporters.
“It is unfortunate because the former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, when he visited our community on April 5, 2021, promised that the Federal Government would fish out the perpetrators and bring them to justice. This was the promise he made after receiving the call logs and mobile phone of one of the assailants.”
He added that residents had expected concrete action from security agencies after providing the evidence.
“It is not acceptable to us that more than five years after the attack nothing has happened. Nobody is being prosecuted or has been prosecuted,” he said.
Ede also expressed concern over reports circulating within the communities about another possible attack, warning that authorities must not wait for another tragedy before taking action.
“Now rumours of another imminent attack are being circulated. The security agencies will wait until after another attack, then they will come and console victims’ families and perhaps give some token money for burials,” he said.
The community leader called on the Ebonyi State Government to urgently strengthen security in border communities and improve infrastructure to facilitate rapid emergency responses.
“We need the Ebonyi State Government to do something urgently and ensure the security of these border communities,” he said.
“The administration should also make it possible for these communities to be accessible by vehicles so that emergency responders can get here quickly when needed.”
He further urged security agencies to investigate the reports of impending attacks before violence occurs.
“The security agencies should not wait for anyone to bring money before they begin a thorough investigation into these rumours. They must act now and prevent another tragedy,” Ede added.
The latest warning comes amid growing concerns over recurring attacks, kidnappings and violent clashes in several rural communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Southeast regions, where residents have repeatedly accused authorities of failing to provide adequate protection or secure justice for victims.
