Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi (Left) and Alioma Community President General, Hon Monday Eze (Right)
The President-General of Alioma Community Development Union (ACDU) in Ohaukwu LGA, Hon. Monday Eze, has urged the Ebonyi State Government and security agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute individuals allegedly sabotaging the ongoing geographical boundary demarcation of communities created from the defunct Effium community.
Eze made the appeal during a press briefing held after a stakeholders’ meeting in Omege village, Alioma autonomous community, Ohaukwu Local Government Area, stressing that the anti-demarcation campaign is capable of jeopardising the fragile peace currently enjoyed in the area.
The community leader described the sponsors of the agitation as “enemies of peace” who are determined to frustrate the government’s peace-building efforts for personal gains.
He said the boundary demarcation exercise is a key recommendation in the Ebonyi State Government white paper on the Effium communal crisis, adding that the entire state has continued to commend Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru for his unbiased and transparent implementation of the policy.
“Geographical boundary demarcation of communities is one of the cardinal recommendations in the Ebonyi State Government white paper on Effium war.
"The entire Ebonyi people and, indeed, all men of goodwill, have continued to applaud the policy and to appreciate Governor Nwifuru for embarking on the boundary demarcation exercise without bias," Eze said.
He reiterated that Alioma community wholeheartedly supports the implementation of the white paper and will not allow any group of unpatriotic individuals to use propaganda to tarnish the governor’s peace initiatives.
Eze added, “Governor Nwifuru is a pillar of fairness who, pursuant to his commitment to section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has refused to lower the bar on security, welfare, peace, and development of Ebonyi State.”
He warned that the anti-demarcation campaigners are “blood-thirsty dissidents” whose aim is to reignite violence in the area for pecuniary gains.
“Alioma community is calling for the arrest and prosecution of those behind the anti-demarcation campaign.
“They are merely blood-thirsty dissidents who want the return of violence for pecuniary gains," he said.
The defunct Effium community in Ohaukwu LGA has been ravaged by communal conflict since January 2021, resulting in the death of over 5,000 people and the destruction of property worth billions of naira.
In the aftermath, the Ebonyi State Government issued a white paper recommending the creation of new autonomous communities from the old Effium.
In May 2025, the government created five autonomous communities from the defunct Effium: Alioma, Ezekuna-Alioma, Effium, Ijem, and Ekerigwe.
Subsequently, the state commenced the geographical demarcation of their boundaries—a move that brought calm and accelerated the abatement of violence in the area.
The demarcation exercise has received widespread support from the new communities and well-meaning citizens across Ebonyi State.
However, recent calls to halt the process have raised fears that the conflict could reignite, as the move is widely perceived as an attempt to truncate the implementation of the white paper.
The Alioma community’s stance reflects growing concern among residents that any disruption of the boundary demarcation exercise could undermine the fragile peace and trigger a fresh wave of violence in the war-ravaged region.
