Amasiri community in Ebonyi spokesperson Joy Idam says shutdown of schools, hospitals and markets has left residents dying and children losing an academic year.

The Amasiri community in Ebonyi State Spokesperson Joy Idam has accused the state government of imposing punitive measures that have crippled the town following a lingering land dispute with neighbouring communities, calling for what she described as “balance” in the handling of the crisis.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Tuesday, Idam alleged that actions taken by the state government in response to the conflict have disproportionately affected Amasiri residents, shutting down key services and worsening humanitarian conditions in the area.

“We seek balance. What my people seek is balance,” she said. “What the people of Amasiri are clamouring for is for hospitals to reopen.”

Idam criticised several government actions taken after the latest round of violence linked to the land dispute, arguing that they have effectively stripped residents of basic rights and access to essential services.

“If I were the governor of Ebonyi State, I would see the video of the four beheaded people and go to the community to preach calm and peace, knowing that both the Okporojo people and the people of Amasiri, who are in contention over the land, are my subjects whom I swore an oath to protect,” she said.

She added: “If I were the governor, I would not sack all political appointees from Amasiri, dethrone the two kings and have them thrown in jail. I would not shut down schools, which has led to children not writing the common entrance examination in Amasiri. I would not transfer all the teachers in public schools in Amasiri to other locations within Ebonyi State.”

According to her, the closure of schools has had severe consequences for students in the community.

“What this means is that secondary school children did not get to register for NECO, for WAEC, for JAMB. It means indirectly that every child from Amasiri has lost one academic year. And the Child Rights Act includes freedom to free and compulsory education,” she said.

Idam also claimed that the shutdown of hospitals and strict security measures have led to tragic outcomes.

“Because of the closure of hospitals, a few days ago a woman who was in labour attempted to trek to the next community to get medical attention due to the curfew. But she was turned back by soldiers. She ended up having that baby stillborn at home. What was that baby’s crime? The child’s only crime was being from Amasiri,” she said.

“Another woman who was in labour was driven out of Amasiri by her family to seek medical attention, but they were turned back by soldiers. She delivered at home and bled to death. Two days later, the baby girl she had also died.”

She further accused security personnel deployed to the community of destroying property and blocking humanitarian assistance.

“The governor says that for security reasons he had to deploy soldiers to Amasiri. I wonder why only in Amasiri and why there are no soldiers in Okporojo,” she said.

“Despite the claim that it is for security reasons, the soldiers deployed are busy destroying houses and destroying food supplies. There are videos of bags and heaps of rice being burnt by soldiers.”

According to her, the situation has created a humanitarian crisis in the community.

“This is the sixth week since January 31 that this siege started. Schools remain closed, hospitals remain closed, markets remain closed and worship centres remain closed,” she said.

“People bringing food and drugs are turned back. Senior citizens with high blood pressure are dying. Women are dying. Youths have died.”

Idam also rejected allegations that Amasiri residents were responsible for attacks against neighbouring communities.

“It is not true. It is totally false and incorrect,” she said.

“Rather, the Okporojo and Oso youths have set up a barricade on the Oso Federal Highway. Once any vehicle is passing through, they stop it and search the passengers. If you identify as an Amasiri person, they drag you out and beat you up. In most cases, those people have never been seen again.”

She claimed that several residents had disappeared under such circumstances, including a retired warrant officer and his wife.

“We have several petitions of people from Amasiri who went to their farmland, including a retired warrant officer who went with his wife, and they have gone missing to this day. They were abducted by the Eda militia,” she alleged.

Addressing reports about the alleged beheading of individuals in the crisis, Idam said the community had no knowledge of such killings.

“Amasiri does not know anything about any heads,” she said.

“In Amasiri, we do not bury in the month of December. So the last burial was in November. Everybody that died in December and the first weeks of January was buried in the last three days of the month. When this incident happened, Amasiri was already in mourning with more than 20 burials taking place in different parts of the community.”

She also questioned the effectiveness of a boundary committee recently set up by the state government to resolve the land dispute.

“The governor set up a 19-member committee to carry out demarcation, but the major stakeholders who should work with that committee are in detention,” she said.

“Our two traditional rulers he dethroned are in detention on his orders. The coordinator of the Amasiri Development Centre, who should help show where the borders are, is also in detention. Executive members of the Amasiri Town Union have fled. So I ask again: who is going to work with this committee?”

Idam confirmed that the community had also filed a ₦105 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit and submitted a petition to the International Criminal Court over alleged violations.

“There are no updates yet,” she said. “We are still expecting that it will be acted upon because it borders on violations of fundamental human rights.”

Defending the community’s position in the dispute, she insisted the land at the centre of the conflict belongs to Amasiri.

“If you own a property in Maitama and some people are encroaching on your land, would you allow them to take what is your ancestral heritage and right?” she asked.

“My people have only said, ‘No, you cannot take this.’ The land in contention belongs to Amasiri and they know the truth.” (AriseNews TV, but headline modified)

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