There was palpable tension in Amakohia-Ubi, a community in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, on Wednesday evening following a violent clash between herdsmen and local security operatives.
Naijaonpoint understands that the incident left one vigilante dead, another wounded, and a third missing, sparking fears of abduction.
The Sun quoted community sources as disclosing that the clash occurred around 6:30 pm during a heavy gun exchange between the herders and vigilantes who attempted to stop them from invading farmlands.
“It’s always the routine of our vigilantes to guard our farms. That day, they encountered the Fulani herdsmen approaching at exactly the community’s college. They asked them to go back, but they refused, not knowing that they were fully armed. They opened fire on our men and killed Ojo Ola and wounded another person,” a resident told journalists on Thursday.
The source added that efforts were ongoing to trace the missing vigilante.
“All through yesterday night, they have been searching the bushes with hope to find him, but all to no avail. But when his phone line was called this morning, one of the herdsmen picked it, so we don’t know if he was abducted or killed,” he said.
The deceased vigilante was identified as Monday Nwaozuzu, popularly known as Ojo Ola.
Residents said the slain operative was on routine patrol when the herdsmen engaged them in gunfire.
Naijaonpoint reports that the latest attack comes barely weeks after a similar assault on August 20, 2025, which left three residents dead, several others injured, and two persons abducted.
Eyewitnesses had reported that assailants emerged from nearby bushes, shooting indiscriminately before fleeing with abductees.
Police operatives were said to have visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment. Authorities reportedly appealed for calm, but the tension has already forced several residents to flee to neighbouring towns and communities.
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