Why Ebonyi-Cross River border crisis persists

The people of Igbeagu in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and their neighbours at Ukelle in Yale Local Government Area of Cross River State had lived in peace for a very long time. They inter-married and shared some common cultures, but unfortunately, that peace has eluded them. Since 2005, the people have been […]

The people of Igbeagu in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and their neighbours at Ukelle in Yale Local Government Area of Cross River State had lived in peace for a very long time. They inter-married and shared some common cultures, but unfortunately, that peace has eluded them. Since 2005, the people have been embroiled in hostilities, killing one another and burning houses, farm produce and destroying other valuable properties. Our correspondents gathered that the cause of the recent crisis is traceable to claims and counterclaims over the ownership of their border land, along the popular Enyim River.

The people of Igbeagu are predominantly rice and yam farmers, but farming activities have virtually come to an end in the area due to the border crisis between them and the people of Ukelle. Schools have also remained closed since 2018 as attacks still persist in some villages in Igbeagu and Ukelle.

Chief Nweze Peter, the zonal leader of Ndubia sub-division of Igbeagu community, who spoke to our correspondent at his country home, said his village and others lost not less than 12 persons in two weeks.

Chief Peter claimed that the area in dispute originally belonged to his forefathers. He added that the leasing of the land to some members of  Igbeagu by Ukelle people was what sparked the fresh crisis.

“They were living with our people in a place called Nfuma. The place we gave to them to settle, which they are now claiming belongs to them. When they said so, we objected to it because we had been living together until they started leasing the land to us.

“The people of Cross River came over to our side to fish, and after that, our people asked them to go. They were our guests and we were expected to be friendly to them and allow them to continue fishing,’’ Peter said.

He alleged that for the past two weeks, Igbeagu community had suffered seven attacks from Ukelle people.

“Just last week, they attacked Nkaliki and injured one of our relatives. They also killed four persons at Ochafu, one at Achacha, one at Oferekpe, one at Igwedeloha and two persons at Nduozoke.

“Also, at Okwerike, half of the village was sacked and houses destroyed. The same thing happened in another village known as Nwankwu.

“At Nkaliki, it is the same thing; nobody resides there again. Last week, they set barns ablaze and destroyed tubers of yam in it. We are living in fear because nobody is safe here, including visitors like you,’’ he said.

According to a youth leader in Igbeagu, Pascal Nwenyi, a lawyer, the old Abakiliki Division was in Ogoja Province, which covered Igbeagu community and Ukelle. He added that Enyim River had been the authentic physical feature that demarcated the people of the then Ogoja Province and those in Abakiliki Division. He, however, argued that Mbasara River, which is located in Cross River State, was the actual boundary line between the two communities.

“The question now is: What makes them the owners of the land? Is the land owned by Cross River or the people residing there? If it is the people, let them quietly cross to the other side where they have Cross River. Even the people they call their brothers don’t share the same culture or tradition,’’ he said.

He further traced the history and properties of some indigenes of Igbeagu to some places in Cross River State, saying they left those places as a result of the Nigeria civil war.

“Before the 1960s, our people lived at a place they called Ellocke. If you go to Ellocke today, we still have Nwaku-Ellocke, a market that was established by Izzi people. Till today, we still have some Izzi compounds there,’’ he explained.

Speaking on the possible solution to the crisis, Mr. Kelvin Opoke, a retired assistant inspector-general of police who hails from the area and a member of the Peace Initiative, maintained that demarcation of the boundary by the National Boundary Commission (NBC) was the only solution.

“When the crisis started in 2005, I was still in service in Abuja. When we heard about it, I and Eze Nwenyi went round to sensitise our people in the National Assembly. We also went to the NBC.

“They should show us our boundary in this zone,’’ he said.

Speaking on the devastating effect of the crisis on the people, Eze John Nwenyi, who said he saw it all, right from  the colonial days, told Daily Trust on Sunday that displaced persons at Igbeagu had not received any relief material from the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) or their counterparts at the national level. He noted that the crisis had lasted for 23 years. He said that every effort by governments of both states to restore peace to the disputed area had not yielded any positive result, except communiqués.

“The places called Ebonyi and Ogoja today were in Ogoja Province, which had five divisions: Ogoja, Obubura, Abakaliki, Afikpo and Udu.

“We had a defined boundary, which was the Enyim River, which we and the Cross Riverians reconginsed. According to history, in 1919 or thereabouts, Ukelle people crossed the river to stay on our side because they were killed by their neigbour, Akajioku.

“Our people accepted them on the oath that there would be no bloodshed; and we were living in peace. The only people we had problems with were the Okoms, not Ukelle.

“That’s how Ukelle grew up and felt they had arrived and started threatening us to leave.

“We took the case to the NBC. We held a meeting in Calabar in 1994, where decisions were reached, but none has been implemented.

“The two governments have been meeting for 23 years now. There have been communiqués, but they have not implemented any.

“For me, the problem lies with the NBC. We expected them to come and take us back to our homes, using the military to protect us, but they are stationed on the highway.

“On the displayed persons, everyone here is catering for his relatives. We have no refugee camp because we are afraid that they may one day surround them there and clear them.

“For the past 14 years we have not received any relief material, either from the state or Federal Government,’’ Nwenyi alleged.

Recounting his ordeal, Ogah Samson, a 14-year-old student in Ngiji village who relocated to another village, Ndubia Igbeagu, to continue his education, said the situation made it difficult for his parents to pay his school fees.

“The war affected my school and I had to relocate. My parents are finding it difficult to pay my school fees because my father’s farmlands were all destroyed. So we are hungry.

“l want this crisis to end so that we can go back to Ngiji and continue our farming activities,’’ he said.

An Ukelle youth, Frank Eti, who escaped the recent violence and fled with his mother, who unfortunately died as a result of injuries she sustained during an attack, said, “Izzi people moved into our village when everyone had left for church and began to set houses on fire. They even attempted to invade the churches in order to kill more youths and elders. It was here that my mother was attacked, but we escaped with many cuts.  I was able to mobilise funds to convey her to a hospital in Calabar. Unfortunately, she died.’’

Miss Beatrice Akpalla, one of the media assistants to Governor Ayade, who hails from Ukelle, said that what led to the recent violence was the killing of a woman on her farm by the people of Izzi. This action, she said, led to a reprisal attack; hence this full-fledged war.

She said her community was usually at the receiving end, and dismissed the allegation that Ukelle youths were being armed by some retired army generals. “How many retired generals do we have in the state?’’ She asked.

Expressing surprise and worry that youths no longer mind the heavy presence of the military as they still go on to unleash mayhem, she called on President Muhammadu Buhari to show more interest by visiting the warring area for an on-the-spot assessment.

Daily Trust on Sunday observed that because of the crisis, social vices like child slavery and abuse, especially among girls, street begging, hawking, as well as a sharp rise in school dropout in the affected villages, are on the increase.

Also, cases of missing children and prostitution are on the rise in the Ebonyi State capital, Abakaliki and other places.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ebonyi State command, ASP Loveth Odah, said the command had not received any official report on any recent attack in Igbeagu. He, however, noted that the command had deployed armed policemen to secure the area.

Our correspondent, who visited Igbeagu on Friday, gathered that both warring communities were on vigil.

It was also observed that Igbeagu indigenes who sustained injuries were receiving treatment at the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakiliki while those from Ukelle were taken to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.

The spokesperson of the police in Cross River State, DSP Irene Ugbo, also said the command had not received any death report recently but acknowledged that fresh fighting was reported in the area.