By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Nigerian Army on Sunday February 8, 2026, said their presence in the embattled Amasiri Community and environs is to protect innocent and law-abiding residents, restore normalcy, as well as prevent further security breaches.
The Source reports that ever since its reported invasion and killings of some indigenes of its neighbours, Okporojor community, Amasiri has been completely taken over by security personnel drawn from multiple agencies.
Four persons were beheaded, several others abducted, with several homes equally razed when some local Amasiri warriors allegedly invaded and attacked Okporojor neighbours on Thursday, February, 29, 2026.
Several others including women and children were also taken away by the invading attackers.
A statement on Sunday by Lt Col Olabisi Ayeni , the Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army Enugu, insisted that the intervention of troops and other sister security agencies in the Communities involved in the festering and deadly communal clashes is to restore normalcy, and not an invasion.
The Army response is coming amidst the condemnation of security presence in Amasiri and neighbouring communities by some media outlets and social critics who are accusing the military of invasion and brutalities against the people.
A viral video in circulation on social media, depicts journalists and others criticizing the deployment of troops and other security operatives to the Amasiri Community and environs.
The Nigerian Army, however, noted that the occupation and brutalities narratives are both misleading, mischievous and do not reflect the true intentions of the joint security operation in the beleaguered communities.
“Troops were deployed as a direct response to the gruesome killings and beheadings of four individuals in Okporojor village , Edda LGA, and subsequent discoveries of shallow graves containing mutilated bodies in Amasiri.
“These atrocities demanded urgent intervention to restore peace, protect innocent lives, and bring perpetrators to justice.
“The Ebonyi State Government, in line with its constitutional responsibility to safeguard lives and property, therefore, imposed a curfew, and temporarily closed schools in Amasiri to prevent escalation and ensure public safety.
“The security agencies were deployed to enforce the curfew, ensure uninterrupted investigations and security operations, protect medical teams, and manage the humanitarian implications of the crisis”, Ayeni stated.
The Army spokesperson noted that the intervention of the security team drawn from the police, the Department of State Service, DSS, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, have been conducting its operations based strictly on credible intelligence, and with emphasis on patrols, cordon-and-search operations, as well as forensic exhumation in the affected areas.
According to him, security personnel based on the receipt of credible intelligence have been able to locate multiple shallow graves where victims of the deadly communal clashes, including women and children were buried.
Ayeni explained that the discovery of these shallow graves underscores the large scale carnage and crimes committed, and the urgent need for security intervention to dismantle criminal syndicates with a view to preventing further violence.
This is as he rejected claims suggesting that the intervention is solely targeted at the people of Amasiri Community.
“It is important to stress that the deployment of troops is not targeted at the people of Amasiri, but at criminal elements exploiting communal tensions to perpetrate heinous crimes.
“The operation is intelligence-led, professional, and conducted in partnership with local leadership to ensure transparency and accountability”, the Army added.
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