Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has eased the curfew in Amasiri, Afikpo Local Government Area, now restricting movement from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., while assuring that suspects in the recent brutal killings will face prosecution.
Governor Nwifuru announced the adjustment on Tuesday while briefing journalists after the State Security Council meeting at his office in New Government, Centenary City, Abakaliki.
The curfew had earlier been imposed from 2 p.m. to 10 a.m. following the deadly attack on Okporojo, Oso-Edda in Edda Local Government Area, where four people were reportedly beheaded, and their heads taken away by unidentified assailants.
The governor warned that the Amasiri community’s failure to produce the severed heads within the earlier 72-hour ultimatum would attract stringent measures. Schools in the area remain closed as security agencies continue their investigations.
“All the suspects involved and arrested will be charged in court,” Nwifuru confirmed.
The attack reportedly occurred on January 29, 2026, when armed men ambushed the community, setting homes ablaze. A viral video showed burning houses as residents appealed to the state government and security agencies for urgent intervention.
In response, Governor Nwifuru dismissed all government appointees, dissolved the leadership of the community development union, removed village heads, and dethroned the traditional ruler of Amasiri.
“So on this note, for the time being, the development union executive and all of the villages in Amasiri communities are hereby dissolved. The traditional ruler certificate is thereby withdrawn all the government appointees from Amasiri are thereby sacked,” the governor said.
“All the government appointees from the management committee down to the commissioner, anyone from Amasiri, are hereby sacked. All the village heads in all Amasiri villages in all the autonomous communities are hereby removed.
“For the time being, we will do more. And we will show everybody why we’re government,” he added.
Governor Nwifuru assured the community that those responsible for the killings would face decisive action, stressing that the lives lost would not be in vain.
