By Mick Oseji, Asaba
Gunshots rang out across parts of Aguleri and neighbouring communities in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State as an old communal dispute once again descended into violence.
In a trending video from the troubled area, the sound of gunfire could be heard repeatedly as residents scrambled for safety. A man, speaking in a hectoring and apparently triumphant voice, could also be heard boasting that they had come to “teach” the people a lesson.
Whatever the identity or affiliation of the speaker, the frightening images tell a familiar story: ordinary people caught in the middle of a conflict they did not create, fleeing homes and businesses because the people shooting at one another are not foreign invaders but neighbours, relatives and, in many cases, people bound together by marriage and ancestry.
The latest violence has already claimed lives. Police confirmed one death and several injuries, while subsequent reports put the death toll at five. Buildings, shops and rice-related businesses were reportedly destroyed, and many residents fled as the violence intensified. The Otuocha–Umuoba Anam road was reportedly deserted.
The immediate trigger has been reported differently by various accounts. One version centres on the erection of a signpost and CCTV cameras around a disputed boundary, which Umuoba Anam reportedly resisted. The state government has stressed that community leaders and local government officials cannot unilaterally determine inter-community boundaries, as that responsibility lies with the appropriate state authorities.
But the bigger question goes far beyond the latest signpost, camera or parcel of land.
