The boundary crisis between the Isu community in Arochukwu council area of Abia State and their Utuma neighbours in Biase council area of Cross River State has escalated with the killing on Thursday of a pastor of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Okereke Nchege, and over 10 others.

The people were reportedly killed in a fresh attack between the two communities, but pastor Nchege, was said to be harvesting groundnut in his farm when he was attacked. The attackers were said to have cut off the pastors head leaving his body but when news of the attack filtered to Isu community a search party was dispatched only to discover that the attackers took the body and the head away.

The initial report, according to a source from the community, said the pastor’s killers severed his head and abandoned his body in the farm. The source also added that some women who were on the farm when the incident happened returned to the village with the sad news.

“When the women returned to the village with the news, the youth assembled and went to the farm to confirm the story and recover the corpse. But when they got to the farm the corpse was nowhere to be found,” the source said.

The death of the pastor, according to what Saturday Telegraph gathered, triggered another round of attack and reprisal among the two communities that have been involved in boundary dispute for over two months.

The two communities had suffered causalities during the attacks which escalated last month as a result of the discovery of limestone in Isu. An Isu indigene, Mr. Tony Kalu, has, however, called on security agencies to immediately step in and stop the looming massacre of his people.

He pleaded that the Police and Army should station an outpost in Isu until peace returns to the two communities, otherwise, according to him, the Isu people would be completely wiped out by their neighbours who are more armed and prepared.

The Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Anthony Ogbizi, who confirmed the incident, said a combined team of the Police and Army had brought the situation under control. He said: “The two communities claimed they suffered casualties but they are yet to give us the names and the numbers of people involved.” (New Telegraph)

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