Enugu Council Clarifies Eha-Amufu Women Protest

 

The Isi-Uzo Local Government Council has clarified the Tuesday protest by some women of Eha-Amufu communities, blaming it on deliberate misinformation and politicisation of security matters in the Local Government Area, LGA, by some political actors.

The Council explained that the recent video of women protesting alleged killings by herders in Eha-Amufu community were propelled by “total misinformation” and not a true reflection of current security realities in Isi-Uzo LGA since Governor Peter Mbah’s assumption of office.

The Council’s position and clarifications were contained in a statement personally issued by the Council Chairman, Barr. Obiora Obeagu, on Wednesday.

Obeagu rued what he described as a callous attempt to dent and enmesh in controversy through acts of misinformation and calculated hate campaigns the many critical infrastructural and development interventions and initiatives by the governor in Eha-Amufu such as the landmark 21.7km Agape-Agu Mgbuji-Ogbete Road, Produce City, deployment of over 100 military and security personnel, plans for permanent security camps, among others.

 “Yesterday, Tuesday, 4th March, 2025, I had the opportunity of meeting with the protesting Eha-Ohuala women that came from Eha-Amufu to my office at Isi-Uzo Local Government headquarters, Ikem. 

“They made a series of shocking revelations, which clearly showed that their emotions were stirred by false narratives and information by some political actors.

“In particular, despite previous stakeholders’ engagements by the state government, they were misinformed that all cows in Eha-Amufu farm settlement belong to the government, hence the planned ranching project and that the Farm Estate and Produce City projects by the state government was a ploy by the government to take over their lands and hand over to herders from a particular tribe, thus they do not want the government to cite any projects in our communities.

“Again, as could be easily deciphered from the trending videos, complaints from the women bordered on the incidents that happened in the farm settlements some years ago and how the government should help them relocate permanently to their farms again,” he stated.

Continuing, he said, “I, therefore, wish to categorically state that the protest that happened on Tuesday was a sponsored protest and political propaganda orchestrated by mischievous elements and enemies of progress, fed the protesting women with lies and false information for political capital.

“We acknowledge that we have had incidents of farmers/herders crisis across the communities of Isi-Uzo LGA sharing borders with Benue and Ebonyi States dating back to over 15 years.

“However, the Governor Peter Mbah Administration has been working relentlessly with Isi-Uzo Local Government to tackle and put an end to this problem in our farm settlements and other security challenges through far-reaching security interventions, infrastructural development, and agricultural projects such as the Produce Cities, Farm Estates, and other projects to ensure productive use and effective governance of all spaces for socioeconomic growth of the state.

“Contrary to the claims in the protest videos and other false narrative such as the recent sponsored reports to portray killings in Nkalaeha, a neignourging Ebonyi community, as an incident that happened in Eha-Amufu, the current state administration has gone a long way in restoring order, peace, and security in Eha-Amufu and Isi-Uzo. One of the key testaments is that since moths after his inauguration, there has been no single Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the entire Isi-Uzo and people are in their homes, unlike in 2022 that traditional rulers and religious leaders relocated from Eha-Amufu to other towns and cities". 

The Council admonished “those that promote crisis and instigate protest to desist from such actions in their own interest and in the interest of our communities.”

Meanwhile, an Eha-Amufu-based clergy and some political actors named by the women as sponsors of the protests are expected to face investigation by security agencies.