<b>Also Read:</b><br><a href="https://www.nairaland.com/6609037/ebonyi-communal-war-umahi-asks">https://www.nairaland.com/6609037/ebonyi-communal-war-umahi-asks</a> | <a href="https://www.nairaland.com/6601198/not-fulani-aesid-condemns-renewed">https://www.nairaland.com/6601198/not-fulani-aesid-condemns-renewed</a><hr>I thought they said innocent Fulani herdsmen were responsible for the attacks'<br><hr><br><blockquote><b>From the burning of police stations and the high court to the killing of policemen and the <span style='color:#990000;'>maiming of citizens</span>, Ebonyi state has been rocked by violent attacks over the last few months.</b><br><br>In the past, a major source of such violence was rooted in discord over land ownership rights. However, the attacks have now transcended into bloodshed between the present-day communities of Effium and Ezza-Effium in Ohaukwu LGA in the state.<br><br>Both warring parties claim that the first attack which resulted in the communal crisis that began on January 22, 2021, was triggered by the opposing side.</blockquote><img class=img src="https://f5p3e9e4.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PORTRAIT-OF-EBONYI-DISPLACED-INDIGENES22.png"></img><span style='font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;'><span style='font-size: 8pt;'>Residents affected by the crisis seek refuge in a primary school</span></span><blockquote><b>While some residents attribute the recent spate of violence to a leadership tussle involving members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, <span style='color:#990000;'>some say its a result of the age-long dispute over land ownership.</span></b><br>According to data from the Council on Foreign Relations, <b><span style='color:#990000;'>over 120 deaths were recorded between January and March 2021 in Ebonyi state.</span></b><br><br>In this documentary, <b>TheCable brings you first-hand testimonies, while uncovering details of the communal clash <span style='color:#990000;'>which led to the deaths of many residents and displaced several others to neighbouring states like Benue, where communal crisis, banditry, and other security challenges are predominant.</span></b><br><br> <iframe class=youtube src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tNmYA75x9gE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><a rel=ugc href="https://www.youtube.com/watch'v=tNmYA75x9gE">https://www.youtube.com/watch'v=tNmYA75x9gE</a><br><br>David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi, had decried the spate of killings and lack of peace in parts of the state.<br><br><b>Evil men have infiltrated our state to kill, maim and kidnap but God would deliver us,</b> he had said.<br><br><span style='color:#990000;'><b>Pregnant women, children, the elderly, youths, religious leaders, and traditional rulers in both Effium and Ezza-Effium communities have become victims of the conflict.</b></span></blockquote><img class=img src="https://f5p3e9e4.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PORTRAIT-OF-EBONYI-DISPLACED-INDIGENES8.png"></img><span style='font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;'><span style='font-size: 8pt;'>Pregnant Jacinta as at the time of the interviewshe put to bed two weeks after</span></span><blockquote>Speaking with TheCable, Ekpe Jacinta, a nine months pregnant woman, narrated that the school where she and other displaced persons were camped had no doctor, midwife, or health official to help deliver her baby.<br><br><b>This is my ninth month. My plans' Let the will of God be done because I have nothing. I live in this school. There is no doctor, no midwives; it is only God that protects me,</b> she said.</blockquote><img class=img src="https://f5p3e9e4.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/DESTROYED-PROPERTIES-IN-EBONYI-COMMUNAL-CLASH22.png"></img><span style='font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;'><span style='font-size: 8pt;'>A man walks past a burnt shop</span></span><blockquote>Despite the harsh tales of <span style='color:#990000;'><b>survival, endangered lives, destroyed properties, and shallow graves</b></span> which now characterise the conditions in Effium and Ezza-Effium communities, TheCable found that there is still distrust among several residents.</blockquote><img class=img src="https://f5p3e9e4.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/DESTROYED-PROPERTIES-IN-EBONYI-COMMUNAL-CLASH32.png"></img><span style='font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode;'><span style='font-size: 8pt;'>The signboard of a church remains standing while the building was burnt down</span></span><br><hr><i>This is a special investigative project by Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF) in partnership with TheCable, supported by the MacArthur Foundation. Published materials are not views of the MacArthur Foundation</i><br><br><a rel=ugc href="https://www.thecable.ng/thecable-documentary-the-bloody-communal-clash-that-has-displaced-thousands-in-ebonyi">https://www.thecable.ng/thecable-documentary-the-bloody-communal-clash-that-has-displaced-thousands-in-ebonyi</a>
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