LAGOS - At least 50 people were killed Saturday in a communal clash in Nigeria's southeastern state of Ebonyi, a local government official has said.

The clashes erupted as residents from Ezza and Ezillo communities started a fight over land right disputes, said Onyekachi Eni, the Ebonyi state government spokesman.

The clashes are not linked to attacks by the Boko Haram Islamist sect, he said.

The Ebonyi state governor, Martins Elechi, visited the area on Saturday and warned that the government would not tolerate the wanton killing of innocent citizens and the destruction of property in the name of communal conflict.

"It is unfortunate that these hoodlums want to return anarchy to the area in spite of the success of the government in bringing peace to the area since 2010," he said.

More police reinforcements are being expected from Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River, to collectively ensure that the situation is brought under control.

The crisis between the two communities, which started in 2008 over a piece of land, was quelled by a joint mobile police force team in 2010.

The state government in 2010 allocated some pieces of land to Ezza indigenes to compensate them for the disputed piece of land, as it was clear that both communities could not live together again.

The police have advised motorists and travelers to stay away from the Ezillo end of the Enugu/Abakaliki expressway, till normalcy fully returns to the area.

Nigeria has a population of 167 million and disputes about land and the ensuing violence has long been a headache for the Nigerian government, who is struggling to fight the rampant Boko Haram militants in the north.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday declared a state of emergency in some troubled parts of Borno, Yobe, Plateau and Niger states to find lasting solution to security threats in the areas.