Bodies litter Cross River communities over boundary dispute Houses burnt, farms destroyed.
Hunger, starvation loom as farmers flee war theatre.
The Iyamitet people have killed so many members of our community. So many children have been killed and there are so many that are missing at present. We cannot estimate the number of missing children. If you enter our farmlands and plantations, they are all there with the intention of killing our people. We don’t go to farm again and hunger is now the order of the day.
After the crisis that happened in 2016, I learnt that a man in Ababene cautioned the people not to come for revenge in Iyamitet. The youth in the community had to kill that man. When the son came from Lagos and heard what happened, he mobilised other people and started killing Iyamitet people along the road… The Ababene people invaded us through Agere Road and burnt two houses. That was the beginning of the crisis that happened recently.
No longer at ease, the title of one of Chinua Achebe popular novels, captures the mood in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross Rivers State. Things have fallen apart in the previously tranquil area and the centre appears incapable of holding since June last year when the crisis began. The serene nature of the area has given way to sporadic gunshots that reverberate in different parts of the local government, leading to mindless killing of promising members, old and young. Residents lament that lifeless and decomposing bodies dot different parts of the area from time to time, leaving them with palpable fear.
The crisis, which was reportedly caused by a lingering boundary dispute, has pitted Iyamitet people against the people of Ababene, Arobom and adjoining communities. It has been accusations and counter-accusations between the two warring camps in the last 10 months, with the Ababene group alleging that the Iyamitet people are out to exterminate them.
The head of the Ababene community, Chief Amon Obo, claimed that they had lost so many lives, especially children, in attacks by the Iyamitet people since the crisis began.
He said: “The Iyamitet people have killed so many members of our community. So many children have been killed and there are so many that are missing at present. We cannot estimate the number of missing children. If you enter our farmlands and plantations, they are all there with the intention of killing our people. We don’t go to farm again and hunger is now the order of the day. We are tied down here at Ababene,” he said.
Recalling how his brother, Chief Inyang Egba, was killed, a bereaved member of the community, Hon Chief Philip Ikpan, said: “My brother went to the farm and on his way back, he was attacked by the Iyamitet people. They cut his head, one of his hands and one of his legs and took them away, leaving the remaining parts of the body there. It was the remaining parts that we buried.
“When the Iyamitet people got back home, they started jubilating. His wife and children are now with me because they also had their house burnt. We are living in fear every day because of the attacks.”
The deceased’s wife, Mary, was in tears when our correspondent sought her comments on her husband’s death.
“I have lost everything. They killed my husband and burnt our house. My children and I are deeply traumatised and confused,” she said.
Another victim, Monday Egbe, was yet to come to terms with the murder of his elder brother when our correspondent spoke with him. He felt like hearing somebody say to him that the story of his brother’s death was a joke, but all he got were words of consolation from sympathisers.
In tears, he said: “My brother, Oyama, who was a teacher here in Ababene, was murdered by some Iyamitet people on his way to school. He was an easy going man, which makes one to wonder why such a bestial treatment was meted out to him. We are not happy with the development at all because Iyamitet people have turned us into preys.”
But aside from the bestial murders, the people’s houses and farms are also being destroyed. Some of the survivors who spoke with our correspondents said they had been keeping vigil as the attacks occur day and night.
Tale of woes
It was also a tale of woes when our correspondent spoke with Joseph Ewop, who narrowly escaped death.
Counting his losses, Joseph said: “My personal house as well as our entire family houses were razed by Iyamitet people. I don’t have a place to lay my head again. I have taken my children to my brother in Calabar. There is no day they don’t attack our people. We don’t go to farm again and they have harvested our cassava along Obrema/Iyamoyon axis.
“Iyamitet people rely on the fact that they have ammunition and people in government. They attacked one of our women and beat her so badly that she had to be admitted in a hospital. We report the matter to the police each time it happens.
“The recent attack came at a time we were planning to host them for a peace meeting. We had gone to their place (Iyamitet) for peace talks and they were supposed to come to our place for the second leg of the talks. But instead of peace talks, it was an attack they unleashed on us the same day.
“We had made preparations for them to come for the meeting, but the moment they arrived in their cars, they started shooting.”
A retired army officer, Captain George Erim, who had his valuables and his late elder brother’s house burnt in one of the attacks, said: “I was in a church service in Calabar when my wife told me that our son called to say that Iyamitet people had invaded Arobom. When I checked my phone, I saw several missed calls and called back my first cousin in Iyamitet. He told me there was trouble at home and that I should call. It was then that I was told that Arobom had been completely burnt.
“The following day, I travelled home to see the army brigade commander who told me that our representatives in the House of Assembly and House of Representatives had come to tell him what happened. When I got to my place, I was surprised to see that Arobom was totally finished.
“From there, they moved to Ababene to attack our people. They burnt the house of my late elder brother and destroyed all the yams meant for planting. They have occupied the farm. They almost burnt my house before security men came. Last year, my building materials were ravaged.
“The police came but could not contain the Iyamitet people. It was when soldiers came that they retreated. But before then, they had killed three people.”
He added: “As I am speaking with you, they are still on our land. Just on Monday, they attacked six women who had gone to the farm to get something for their hungry families. They inflicted machete cuts on them and broke their legs.
“The security men are not positioned at the right place. The policemen are supposed to go to the boundary between Ababene and Iyamitet to prevent them from entering our farmland, but it was not done that way. I don’t know why it is like that.”
Genesis of unending mayhem
Digging into the remote cause of the crisis, Chief Amon said: “On June 1, 2016, there was a rumour that two Iyamitet boys who were returning from Ugep were abducted at Oyadama. A day after the incident, Iyamitet people invaded Obubema community, which is about 24 kilometers away from theirs.
“I as the village head of the community was present when they came in a white bus, heavily armed. They didn’t ask questions from anybody before they started shooting sporadically, burning houses and falling all our economic trees.
“In the process, one man was shot dead while another had bullet wounds. As the village head, I quickly alerted our people and told them to run for dear lives. Many of my people died in the attack. We eventually ran to the next community called Arobom.
“Unfortunately, the attackers chased us to Arobom where we went to seek refuge the following day, which was June 3, 2016. There they killed a man who was a manager in a palm oil plantation. They burnt down everything in the neigbouring communities on their way to Arobom. Eight people died and nine suffered bullet wounds. About 428 people were displaced.
“That action went on for four days, covering Obrema, Ofura, Apkantere, Oron and several other communities.”
The crisis, according to Chief Amon, started on January 19 this year.
He said: “We heard that FERMA (Federal Roads Management Agency) was coming to do something about the buildings that were burnt down during the 2016 attacks, so we went there as a community to keep the place tidy.
“After the exercise, I learnt that two boys fought and one was badly injured. As a community, we never wanted any problem again and consequently had to take care of the treatment of the injured boy who was from Iyamoyong.
“On January 26, I got a call from a member of my community that there were palm leaves setting on our playground, which was an action indicating war. I had to call the village council head of Iyamitet to find out why they did that, but he said he was not aware of it.
“After some time, he called back and invited me to Obubema, saying that they had resolved at their council that even though they were not involved in the setting up of palm leaves, they would come and remove the setup so that it would not cause trouble.
“As a leader, I rushed to the place to witness the whole thing. On getting there, I met one Nkanu Bassey, the village council chairman, and another man who is an engineer. A few minutes after we exchanged pleasantries, some boys from Iyamitet, numbering about 20, came on motorbike and I wondered what had brought them.
“I saw them struggling to get wood to make fire. I inquired to know what the fire was meant for but got no meaningful response. When I studied the situation, I discovered that something awful could happen, so I quickly whispered to the chiefs and two other boys who had gone there with me and we ran back.
“The following day, which was January 27, there was a total blockade from Ababene to Iyamoyong/Iyamitet highway. They set up palm leaves across the road and a group of armed boys gathered there and prevented people from passing through the road, claiming that it was the point where our people cut their people’s heads. The place is called Liberation Checkpoint, and as I speak to you now, the whole place is blocked.
“They are there on a daily basis, armed and preventing our people from going to their farms. For a very long time, our people have left their farms unattended to. They have looted all our farm crops. The police, the army and the SSS have called for several meetings but none has been successful.
“On January 30, 2017, the security adviser to the state governor invited us (Iyamitet and Ababene) to Calabar for a meeting. We attended the meeting but no one came from their side. It was only the member of the House of Assembly, who we voted for, and another man who lives in Calabar that represented them.
“On March 5, our number one traditional ruler died. In our culture, when a ruler of that status dies, you don’t immediately announce it to the people. You only tell them that he is sick. The death occurred on a Sunday when nobody goes to anywhere.
“Between 3pm and 3.30pm, Arobom, which is a clan in Ababene Ward, was invaded by a group of armed men from Iyamitet. They burnt down the entire community and killed so many people. We only knew of it when they started crying down to Ababene. We couldn’t do anything because the information came very late and there was no way we could rush to inform the government because we would meet the armed Iyamitet boys on the way.
“The following morning, which was 6th, the attack spread to our place as we were planning to report to security operatives. They also burnt down many houses at our place. We had to resist them when the damage was becoming too much. We did this with the aid of the police and soldiers who came to rescue us.
“On March 9, the Iyamitet people came from another direction (Apkantere) and attacked us. We put up a strong resistance and drove them back to their place. If you hear that we went to Iyamitet, it was because of this attack.
“They burnt down primary schools in Arobom, Obrema and Apkantere in 2016 and we had to attach the pupils to the school in Ababene. The question we have been asking ourselves is if there is no longer a government in the state and if the rule of law no longer exists to guarantee the safety of our people.
“We have always reported this matter to the police. And if I tell you that the Divisional Police Officer has done nothing, I will be telling you a very big lie.
“The Iyamitet people are saying that they want boundary. If they want boundary, is it by fighting or killing people that they will get it? At a point, they claimed that the attack was because one of their sons, who is a pastor, was beheaded. If such a thing indeed happened, why would they not report to the police for proper investigation instead of taking the laws into their hands?”
Our action was retaliatory, says Iyamitet council chair
Reacting to the allegations levelled against his community by the people of Ababene, the town council chairman of Iyamitet, Nkanu Bassey, said the killings had never been one-sided.
According to him, “Iyamitet has also lost so many people to the crisis. The problem started when Ababene people killed one Elijah from Iyamitet along with another boy at a place we call Goodbye. They also killed one Pastor Elijah, a woman and two other boys. It was after they attacked Iyamitet people that they also attacked Ababene.
“I was having a meeting somewhere when I received a call that they had killed two Iyamitet people. When I got there, there was so much tension and my car was vandalised by Iyamitet boys who frowned that I had been the one preventing them from taking the law into their hands against the Ababene people. I ran for my dear life when the heat was too much.
“For about two or three weeks, I went into hiding in Ikom. From there, I was still making efforts to resolve the crisis. The DPO in Obubra can bear me witness.”
Bassey added: “After the crisis that happened in 2016, I learnt that a man in Ababene cautioned the people not to come for revenge in Iyamitet. The youth in the community had to kill that man. When the son came from Lagos and heard what happened, he mobilised other people and started killing Iyamitet people along the road.
“It was a situation that I could no longer control as a community leader. At a point when tension had subsided and we were planning to have a peace meeting, the Ababene people invaded us through Agere Road and burnt two houses. That was the beginning of the crisis that happened recently.
Also speaking, the lawmaker representing the area in the state House of Assembly, Dr Elucate Okora Edom, absolved himself of any form of involvement in the crisis.
He said: “As somebody occupying a public office, I keep hearing that I am the one inciting war. Am I the one inciting Ababene people to kill Iyamitet people and thereafter go to Iyamitet people to tell them to attack them in return? What is my interest in doing that?
“There is no logic in saying that I am the one inciting crisis. I am in Calabar and these are two sister communities. There is nobody that receives the heat I receive after each of these crises,” he said.
As the representative of the two communities, Elucate said: “I am duly conscious that I am living with their mandate. Therefore, all I appreciate is that the people should live in peace.
“Unfortunately, the crisis between the two communities has always come through one axis. On each occasion, I have tried to intervene to avert trouble. The first case was that there was an abduction of two Iyamitet people at Oyadama and there was sporadic shooting of people across Iyamitet/Iyamoyong axis.
“I got the report and asked Iyamitet people to go to the police and incident the matter. I made contacts so that the two communities could resolve the matter and if possible fish out the culprit so that there would be no crisis.
“The then DPO, who the matter occurred at his instance, was not able to be of any use to us. The matter degenerated, especially as they couldn’t find the culprits or find the abducted people. I ran home from Obudu to Iyamitet to make sure that they laid down their arms, and that was how I stopped the crisis.
“Later, when the youth went for community work, one Iyamoyong boy was almost beheaded. I had to make a call immediately to the Iyamoyong motor chairman, who is my good friend, to make sure that people from the other side were protected.
“After that incident, I organised a meeting in Calabar where I called the political leadership in Obubra in that constituency and we told ourselves the truth. We came up with a communiqué and told everybody to lay down their arms.
“Then I went to the crisis point and dismantled the local vigilante group that was there, because Iyamitet people said that was the point where they had been abducting and killing their people. I dismantled the group so that the Ababene people could have access to their farms.
“Immediately I dismantled the vigilante group, Ababene people killed another Iyamitet pastor on a Sunday. That was the cause of the recent crisis.
“There is a plantation point that is inhabited by Ababene that is very close to Iyamitet. It is at that point that the secret killings are being carried out from the Ababene axis.
“The killing of the pastor provoked Iyamitet people; even when we made efforts to report the matter to the police, the Iyamitet people refused. They said even if they should report the matter, the culprits would be fished out, and that was how they went to war.
“We have prevailed on them and the war has subsided. The brigade commander, who is our friend, has been doing very well. He sent soldiers to go and occupy Ababene to avoid further invasion by the Iyamitet people.”
Asked what he was doing to bring a lasting solution to the crisis, Elucate said: “As I speak with you, engagements are going on. I have prepared a list of stakeholders in the two clans so that we can constitute a permanent peace committee that will work out modalities for permanent peace.
“One of the practical steps we have taken is to ensure that the DPO who was serving in that place and was of no security value to us was removed from Obubra. I am sure the new one is worth his onions and we would be working with him to make sure there is peace.
“There is no more war. There is no more fighting. The police have left and the army have also left. The cost of putting police or army on duty outside in such isolated area is too high to be borne by us as individuals. The military may not make such provision and thus leave it to the state or the local government. We don’t have the muscle to foot such bills.”
He added: “The security operatives have long left. What the people are now doing is keep vigil on the path they have often suffered those attacks. We have had reports that they don’t allow other people to access their farms and we have told them that is not their mandate. They should allow them access to their farms.
“The allegation that Iyamitet people have taken over their farms is what we call psychology of war. In a war situation, you have lost confidence in yourself and the peace process is to rebuild that confidence, and that is what we are doing.”
Elucate noted that leaders of the constituencies have agreed that one of the causes of the crisis is demand for boundary demarcation, and they are committed to resolving it.
He said: “The crisis is caused by boundary demarcation. The state government has arbitrated over this matter. They have about two administrative panel reports with concrete resolutions and recommendations to the state.
“Although, they have not been implemented, we have come to term with the act that if we need government to give us peace, it may be a far cry. So we want to give ourselves peace. We are committed to it.”
In spite of the claims by the feuding parties that several members of their communities have been killed, the state police command said people only sustained injuries but nobody died.
In a telephone chat with The Nation, the command spokesperson, ASP Irene Ugbo, said: “We are not aware that anybody died during the crisis. Some people were injured and have been treated. The police is on top of the development as the commissioner does not waste time to draft men and officers to crisis points.”
In another telephone chat, the Special Adviser to the state governor on Security Matters, Jude Ngaji, said: “I have met with all the leaders, and as I speak with you now, I can tell you there is heavy military presence in that place.
“Our focus as a government is to mop up the arms in the hands of people, because when they don’t have arms, they will not fight with bare hands. This problem is bigger during the planting season. We would do a lot of sensitisation on this.
“The governor has constituted a state boundary agency that will go to all these crisis areas, and by the time they are done, the government will bring a lasting solution to the problem.
“For now, we will concentrate on how to bring about peace and security of lives and property in the area.”
