The Nigerian Army, Nigeria’s national military force, has said its ongoing security operation in Amasiri, a community in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State in south-east Nigeria, is meant to protect residents and stop criminal violence, not to “invade” the area.
In a statement shared on Sunday, 8 February 2026, the Army said it was responding to social media videos that showed journalists criticising the presence of troops in the community. Okay News reports that the statement was signed by Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Ayeni, Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations for the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army.
The Army said troops were deployed after four people were killed and beheaded in Okporojo village in Edda Local Government Area, and after shallow graves containing mutilated bodies were discovered in Amasiri.
“These atrocities demanded urgent intervention to restore peace, protect innocent lives, and bring perpetrators to justice,” the statement said.
It added that the Ebonyi State Government, in line with its constitutional duty to protect lives and property, imposed a curfew and temporarily closed schools in Amasiri to prevent the situation from getting worse and to improve public safety.
According to the Army, security agencies were deployed to enforce the curfew, support investigations and security operations, protect medical teams, and manage the humanitarian impact of the crisis.
Ayeni said the operation involves joint teams from the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Security (DSS), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). He said the teams are carrying out intelligence-led patrols, cordon-and-search operations, and forensic exhumations of multiple burial sites, including graves of adults and children.
“It is important to stress that the deployment of troops is not targeted at the people of Amasiri but at criminal elements exploiting communal tensions to perpetrate heinous crimes,” he said.
The Army said the operation is professional and carried out in partnership with local leaders to ensure transparency and accountability. It also said the intervention will continue until peace is restored, suspects are arrested, and justice is served.
The Army urged members of the public to ignore misinformation and support ongoing efforts to secure Afikpo North and surrounding communities.
Land Dispute And Rising Violence
The Army’s statement came amid renewed tension linked to a decades-long land dispute between Amasiri and the neighbouring Oso Edda community in Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Some residents of Amasiri have claimed the disputed land belongs to them, accusing Oso Edda settlers of gradually encroaching on it over many years.
The crisis worsened on Thursday, 29 January 2026, after suspected assailants from Amasiri were accused of attacking Okporojo village in Oso Edda. The attackers allegedly beheaded four residents, including traditional rulers, and set several houses on fire.
The violence has been described as retaliatory, with both communities accusing each other of starting the latest round of attacks in a conflict that has continued for years.
Following the incident, Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru imposed a 20-hour curfew on Amasiri, closed schools, and dissolved the community’s entire leadership structure. The governor also removed government appointees from Amasiri, deposed traditional rulers, and the police arrested key suspects, including the Amasiri Development Centre coordinator, Anya Baron-Ogbonnia, and two monarchs.
However, residents and leaders in Amasiri have protested what they described as a one-sided crackdown that favours Edda. They accused the governor of bias, pointing to claims about family ties to Edda and alleging political grudges, including accusations that Amasiri did not support him in earlier elections.
The governor’s office has defended the measures, saying they were necessary to restore peace after a breach of an earlier agreement and to prevent further bloodshed.
