10 houses razed, scores injured in Enugu community over move to join Kogi

No fewer than 10 houses were burnt, while unspecified number of people seriously injured at Ette in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, following disagreement by rival groups.
They were said to be agitating over whether to remain as part of the Enugu State or be merged with Kogi State.
However, soldiers from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army have been deployed to the area to contain the situation.
It was gathered that the latest violence erupted when those who wanted to be merged with Kogi State attacked a youth leader opposing their move, after burning down his house.
According to police sources at Enugu Ezike, the headquarters of the local council, the group “attacked and shot the youth leader of those in favour of remaining in Enugu four times.
“Although the youth leader, Mr. Matthias Eje, survived the attack, he sustained several bullet wounds from the four shots, while his house was also burnt. The attackers also burnt other houses in Onoda part of Ette.”
The injured youth leader was said to be recuperating at a private Hospital (name withheld) in Enugu.
It was alleged that those in favour of remaining in Enugu State later re-grouped and launched a reprisal attack by burning some of the houses of their alleged attackers before the deployment of soldiers.
A prominent indigene of Ette, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said before the attack, “the pro-Enugu youths of Ette had successfully repelled the invading pro-Kogi armed youths four times in the past few weeks.
“Those attacks had in the past one year escalated to such a level that those in favour of ceding the large area from Enugu to Kogi had forced a Catholic Church Parish to close down, while most government establishments in the area now barely exist.”