Death toll in a communal clash between two communities; Ezillo and Ezza in Ebonyi state of Nigeria have risen to 66 following the discovery of more corpses from bushes within Ezillo where gunmen opened fire on residents. Children between the ages of three to five and women were among the victims of the attack and the head of crimes of a police station was also killed.
Prolonged land dispute between the communities led to the loss of 150 lives in 2010 forcing the state government to sack everybody from the disputed land bringing relative peace to the area. The attack came a few hours after Nigeria`s President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in areas mostly affected by fundamentalist Muslim group, Boko Haram`s insurgency but the two scenarios remain different.
Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 6, Saidu Daya in the company of some youth from the area told the media that more bodies were recovered from bushes in the affected areas. Land disputes are common in Nigeria`s and the most deadly was the Aguleri/Umuleri land dispute which lasted for decades and claimed thousands of lives in 1995.
The governor of Ebonyi state, Martin Elechi, in a radio broadcast, expressed dismay over the resurgence of the communal crisis which he thought has been resolved.