Land Dispute : 60 Years after, Police Restore Peace In Cross River Warring communities

CP Haffiz Mohammed, Cross River State Commissioner of Police 

After over 60 years of communal clash between the Iyamitit in Adun and the Ababene in Okum communities in Obubra Local Government area of Cross River State  over land dispute, the Nigeria Police has finally restored peace in the area.

The dispute which bothers on the ownership of a parcel of land at the border of the communities has lasted since 1957 and has led to destruction of properties, crops and loss of lives.

Cross River State Commissioner of Police, CP Haffiz Mohammed who broker peace between the communities told Journalists in Calabar that both communities have agreed to coexist peacefully during a joint meeting in his office.

According to him,  "The issue of Iyamitit and Ababene who have been disputing for over 60 years has been resolved. I invited them to my office, we sat together and talked and they are now living in peace".

The Commissioner who maintained that war is not settled in the battle field noted that he has also invited the leaders of Ediba and Usumutong communities in Abi local government area of the state who have been fighting for over a decade now for a peace talk.

"War is not settled in the battle field. We will go to Abi to resolve the Ediba and Usumutong crisis, from there I will move to Boki where there's a similar problem. We don't believe in using guns in bringing peace but we will continue talking to them to see the need of living peacefully together", he said.

Commending journalists and traditional rulers for their role in the fight to curb kidnapping and cultism in the State, the Police Chief said that the state command has employed the services of students organisations and advocacy groups to sensitize youths on the danger of cultism.

He said that "Cultism is one area that is giving security agencies serious concern in Cross River State but we have dealt with cult related issues substantially and have arrested so many of them who are standing trials now in court.

"We have invited students and some organizations to talk to people because we believe that the criminals of today can turn about to become the most law abiding people tomorrow. We have engaged people to carry out advocacy that cultism is not the way of life".

Speaking about kidnapping cases in the state, he said that "I will commend the corporation of journalists and traditional rulers who have been helping us with valuable information to help us do our jobs. We're happy that today our efforts have yielded results as the issue of kidnapping has reduced drastically ".