The Ada-Awka War (also known as ‘the War Between Kinsmen’):

Awka sent a message to the Aro warlord Okoli Ijọma to come and make reparations for her son murdered by his mercenary soldiers. The message was haughtily rebuffed. Awka then closed its roads to all Arọ travellers. The Arọ warlord threatened to use arms to force the roads open. He assembled a large Ada army and marched on Awka. The army encamped in a deep wooded ravine near the Ọvbịa stream on the town’s border. The plan was to wait till it was dark, and then take the town by surprise. But there were other creatures in that ravine – black monkeys. The black monkeys were alarmed to see so many humans entering their natural abode. In their alarm many of the monkeys fled into the town, making excited noises that alerted the Awka townspeople. The attacking force of Ada warriors had lost its element of surprise!


Awka attacked them in the narrow ravine, killing so many of them. The Ada warriors, realizing the impracticability of trying to take the town from that heavily-defended narrow front, swerved to Ụmụnnoke village and burst into the town’s Nkwọ Imo-Ọka market square. This was a tactical error, for they now found themselves circled by Awka combatants and were soundly beaten and put to rout.


Awka believed it owed its victory to its protector-god Imo-Ọka, and that the black monkeys had been the agency of their salvation. Hence they declared the black monkey sacred and dedicated it to Imo-Ọka. Till today, no Awka man will kill a black monkey, let alone eat its flesh. ‘Awka na-asọ enwe’ – ‘Awka who hold the monkey sacred’ – is still a salutary phrase in the town.

This war was called ‘Agha gbal Ibenne’ – ‘The War Between Kinsmen’, because Okoli Ijọma was himself of Awka descent and technically was a ’kinsman’.


It was the last bloody clash between Awka and any of its neighbours before the coming of the Europeans.