Ebonyi: Group Raises Alarm Over Alleged Threats From Amasiri, Cites Voice Notes as Evidence

A group of professional journalists operating under the Edda Media Practitioners has raised alarm over what it described as an imminent threat against the people of Oso Edda in Ebonyi State, allegedly orchestrated by assailants from the Amasiri clan.
Speaking at a press conference in Abakaliki on Monday, the group’s coordinator, Ikenna Emewu, claimed that more than 11 voice notes, recorded in the Amasiri dialect and circulating on WhatsApp platforms, indicate plans for renewed attacks on the Edda community. He said the audio clips had been reviewed and handed over to security agencies.
Emewu recalled that on January 29, 2026, hoodlums allegedly from Amasiri attacked Okporojo village in Idima Edda, killing and beheading four persons, abducting another, and destroying houses and property worth millions of naira. The incident drew nationwide condemnation and prompted Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru to sack political appointees, shut schools, and impose a curfew in the affected area.
According to the media group, repeated attacks by suspected Amasiri assailants since 2023 have resulted in no fewer than 14 deaths, two abductions, and the destruction of over 29 houses, farmlands, and valuables in Oso Edda.
Emewu commended the intervention of the state government and security agencies, particularly the Nigerian Army, whose deployment he said prevented further bloodshed. He alleged that recent voice messages detailed plans not only to attack Oso Edda again but also to provoke soldiers stationed in Amasiri, lure them into Oso Edda, and frame the community for any resulting casualties.
He said the alleged plot was aimed at discrediting the military and triggering retaliatory actions against innocent residents, adding that the claims of soldiers being killed in Oso Edda had already been debunked by the Army.
Meanwhile, indigenes of Amasiri have taken to social media to deny the allegations. Individuals including Kingsley Adams, Nicholas Azu, and Onya Emmanuel dismissed the claims as false, insisting the situation was being politicised and not a land dispute.
The media group urged authorities to act swiftly on the intelligence provided to avert further violence.