JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

The Ezillo-Ezza people are found in the Ezillo community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi state. The Ezza people are perceived as non-indigenes or settlers in the community by the Ezillo. Sources had it that the Ezillo people invited in the 1930s about twenty-two Ezza men who helped them to fight against their opponents, the Ngbo people over a piece of land. Today, the two communities who hitherto were living in harmony have fallen apart. What are the factors that led to the Ezillo-Ezza conflicts? To what extent do the conflicts affect the communities involved? What are the implications of the conflict on the sustainable development of the Ezillo-Ezza communities? The paper adopts the historical investigative method to inquire into the causes and implications of the conflict on the two parties. The sources of this paper were both primary and secondary. Theoretically, the paper adopts the Marxist theory of social conflict to analyse the issues that led to the communal conflict. The paper found out that unresolved issues between the two tribes such as land, politics as well biased historical information were behind the escalation of the conflict. The paper, therefore, recommends that it is only an impartial government peace committee that will bring lasting peace among the Ezillo and Ezza communities of Ebonyi state.