JUST IN: Ebonyi State lifts curfew on Amasiri Community

Politics

ABAKALIKI, Nigeria (NPA) — The Ebonyi State Security Council has lifted the dusk‑to‑dawn curfew imposed on Amasiri Community in Afikpo Local Government Area, following weeks of tension and unrest.

Briefing journalists after the Council meeting on May 4, 2026, the Director of DSS, Mrs Eneh Kolawole, conveyed the decision, stating: “Minimum security will still be deployed to forestall further breakdown of law and order, while those apprehended in connection with the crisis will be charged to court.”

A statement by Dr Monday Uzor, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, noted that the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Ben Odoh, explained the action followed letters of remorse from Amasiri people, which were accepted by the Okporojo community and their traditional institutions.

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On the proposed delisting of Amasiri Development Centre, Odoh said the bill had been rejected. “We have persuasion and pleas from the Founding Fathers and Elder’s Council to reject the delisting of Amasiri Development Centre. Consequently, a memo will be sent to the State Assembly conveying the rejection and by implication we now have complete 64 Development Centres,” he said.

The Head of Service, Dr Rita Mary Okoro, confirmed that schools and hospitals in Amasiri would reopen immediately. “A memo will be sent to relevant agencies to recall to their previous duty posts all those civil servants who were transferred out of Amasiri as a result of the crisis,” she said.

Commissioner for Information, Barr Ikeuwa Omebe, assured that government remains committed to protecting lives and property.

Earlier, Newpost Africa reported that the curfew was imposed after the January 29, 2026 crisis, when armed men allegedly from Amasiri invaded Okporojo in Afikpo South, setting houses ablaze and killing at least four people. In response, Governor Francis Nwifuru dismissed all government appointees from Amasiri, dissolved the community development union leadership and village heads, and withdrew the certificate of the traditional ruler.

Visibly angered by the killings, Nwifuru described the attack as “most unfortunate,” vowing to act decisively to restore peace and ensure justice for the victims. His measures mirrored earlier interventions in Effium Community, Ohaukwu LGA, where he successfully quelled a protracted communal conflict between the Effium aborigines and the Ezza people.