About 180 detainees arrested during the Ezza/Effium communal crisis in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have been released from the Abakaliki Correctional Centre.
This decision follows a review by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ebonyi State, Ben Odoh, who determined that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the detainees.
The detainees were apprehended in 2021 during the communal crisis, which erupted over a leadership dispute regarding market toll collection at Effium Motor Park.
What began as a local conflict soon escalated into a full-blown communal war between the Effium and Ezza-Effium communities, resulting in numerous deaths and property damage estimated at billions of naira.
Despite interventions by the then-state government led by David Umahi, the violence persisted.
In a letter addressed to Magistrate Lynda Ogodo, Attorney General Ben Odoh stated his reasons for ordering the discharge. The letter read in part:
“Pursuant to Section 167(1) of Ebonyi State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019, I hereby inform you that the record of the proofs of evidence does not, in my opinion, disclose sufficient evidence to sustain the charge of conspiracy and incitement of war contrary to Section 516(A)(a) and 42 of the Criminal Code Cap 33 Volume 1 Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria 2009 or any other offense against the defendants.
“You are therefore kindly requested to summon the defendants and have them discharged,” the Attorney General ordered.
The release of these detainees, many of whom are natives of the affected Effium community, forms part of Governor Francis Nwifuru’s broader peace initiatives aimed at restoring stability to the region.
The discharge exercise commenced on February 5, 2025, at various courts in Abakaliki, the state capital.
