The Biakpan Conventional Rulers Council and Involved Residents of Biakpan Neighborhood in Biase Native Council of Cross River State have appealed to the federal and state governments to implement long-standing courtroom judgments affirming Biakpan’s possession of disputed land with its neighbour, Etono II.
Briefing reporters in Calabar, Onun Obu Obu Enang, who learn an announcement on behalf of the council, stated the neighborhood may now not stay silent whereas its folks have been being killed and properties destroyed below the guise of agitation for land possession and self-determination.
He referred to as on Governor Bassey Otu, the Inspector Normal of Police, the Legal professional Normal of the Federation, the Director of the Division of State Companies, and the Nationwide Human Rights Fee to behave decisively and guarantee full enforcement of the 1986 Excessive Court docket judgment and subsequent rulings of the Court docket of Attraction and Supreme Court docket.
The Biakpan leaders stated their neighborhood remained dedicated to peace based mostly on reality, equity, and respect for the rule of regulation. “Sufficient is sufficient. The time has come for the Nigerian State to show that nobody is above the regulation and no neighborhood is larger than the state,” the assertion learn.
They recommended Otu and the Biase Native Council Chairman for his or her swift intervention within the lingering disaster, expressing confidence within the governor’s dedication to restoring peace anchored on justice.
The assertion traced the battle to the aftermath of the Nigerian Civil Battle, when the Etono II folks allegedly started to say independence and lay unique declare to Biakpan communal land, regardless of sharing a standard ancestry with Biakpan.
It defined a number of judicial pronouncements, together with Swimsuit No. C/6/73, Attraction No. CA/E/98/86, and Supreme Court docket Attraction No. SC.100/1990 (Ojah vs Ogboni), had all affirmed Biakpan’s possession of the disputed space.
In accordance with the neighborhood, successive Cross River administrations, via official letters in 1996, 2007, and 2012, upheld these courtroom rulings and recognised Etono II as a part of Biakpan communal land.
The leaders accused Etono II of persistent acts of violence and provocation, together with the destruction of spiritual websites, killings of Biakpan indigenes, and arson assaults.
They alleged that on October 5, 2025, Etono II youths and their employed mercenaries burnt down a multimillion-naira Brotherhood of the Cross and Star Cathedral at New Jerusalem, Biakpan, in violation of a peace accord signed two months earlier.
The assertion lamented that regardless of police experiences and eyewitness accounts, no arrests had been made, including that “aggressors typically manipulate narratives to painting Biakpan because the offender.”
Whereas reaffirming its religion in lawful decision, the council urged the enforcement of the courtroom judgments consistent with Part 287 of the 1999 Structure (as amended) and referred to as for the arrest and prosecution of these behind current assaults.
The assertion was collectively signed by Onun Lawrence Ekpezu, Onun Obu Enang, and Chief Godwin Ekpezu on behalf of the Biakpan Conventional Rulers Council and Involved Residents.
Nevertheless, leaders of Etono II have dismissed the allegations as deceptive and one-sided, insisting that their neighborhood has lengthy suffered assaults and discrimination from Biakpan.
Talking via a neighborhood consultant, Enene Eke, Etono II leaders stated they remained dedicated to peaceable coexistence and dialogue however urged the Cross River State Authorities and safety companies to make sure an neutral investigation into the recurring violence.
