Clashes
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At least 28 people were killed and properties worth millions destroyed in clashes between rival clans in Nigeria's Benue state

The violence between the Ezza and Effunn clans was reportedly sparked by the desecration of a shrine in the neighboring Ebonyi state.

"Houses and businesses were set ablaze. At least 28 people have died in the violence," the security adviser to the state's governor Paul Hembah told Anadolu Agency.

He further added that additional measures have been taken to prevent any future violence including the deployment of police and military personnel.

Azioke 1& 2 locality in Okpobula community was attacked by Effunns who are indigenes of both Benue and Ebonyi states. The war, which started on Monday and lasted till Wednesday, destroyed properties including houses and domestic animals.

A witness told the Sun News that the identities of the attackers are the Effunns living within the boundary areas of Benue and Ebonyi states.

"So far, we have seen many dead bodies while escaping from the area and many others are missing with many injured, while many are now displaced," he said.

The history of the Ezza and Effunn clan

The aboriginal Effunn people were the first to settle in Eboyni, having migrated from somewhere in the northern part of the country. But not long after settling there, they became victims of incessant attacks from Ngbo people who wanted them to vacate the land.

Faced with extinction, the Effunn reportedly sent emissaries to Onueke in present-day Ezza South LGA of Ebonyi State appealing for assistance to ward off the Ngbo people.

Before agreeing to help the Effunn clan in their fight against the Ngbo, the Ezza had entered into an agreement of joint ownership of the land with them. After the war had ended and the Effunn were victorious, the Ezza settled into the land and both sides started living together harmoniously.

The two clans lived peacefully until the late 1970s when politics of numbers and grouping came into play and caused division between them. Since that time, the community has experienced intermittent clan-based fighting for supremacy and dominance.