From CHARLES ONYEKWERE, Enugu
Enugu State Police Command has disclosed that no community was invaded or under siege and residents displaced as being rumoured.
The command’s spokesman, SP Daniel Ndukwe made this known in Enugu, yesterday.
The command was reacting to an online report alleging that herdsmen had overrun and occupied homes and schools in Eha-Amufu community.
Ndukwe said after a diligent review, the command discovered that the report was “baseless, mischievous and a calculated attempt to mislead the public and instill fear.”
He said the farm settlements allegedly overrun by herdsmen were temporary dwellings used by farmers who periodically return to their permanent residences in their villages.
Ndukwe noted that available records indicated that farmers were temporarily displaced from these farm settlements during the farmer-herder clashes in 2021 and 2022.
However, he said peace and order had since been restored to Eha-Amufu through joint security operations, contrary to the misleading report.
“The command particularly acknowledged the intentional and intensive interventions of the government of Enugu State to enhance security, especially in Eha-Amufu community and its adjoining communities under the leadership of Governor Peter Mbah.
“These efforts include deploying 150 military personnel and well-equipped special forces, establishing barracks and constructing the nearly completed 21.7km Agape-Agu-Mgbuji-Ogbete access road, leading to some farm settlements in the community.
“Regrettably, the medium that published the report ignored these facts and timelines, using unrelated pictures to support its sensational claim.
“After diligent forensic and digital fact-checking, it was discovered that the images were taken from old reports on incidents in neighbouring states and other locations, then mischievously repurposed to mislead the public,” he said.
According to him, pictures of burnt houses posted by Amnesty International in condemnation of the February 4 attack on Nkalaha community in neighbouring Ebonyi State were falsely misrepresented in the report as a recent occurrence in Eha-Amufu farm settlements.
The spokesman said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mamman Giwan urged the public to disregard the unfounded report.
He said the commissioner reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of the police and other security agencies to maintain law, order and security across the state.
