By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Calabar
The Ugep community in Yakurr Local Government Area has dragged the Cross River State Government and the neighbouring Idomi community before the High Court in Calabar over the disputed Ketabebe frontier land, challenging the government’s recent boundary demarcation and land allocation.
The legal action comes barely hours after the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey, reaffirmed the state government’s decision on the long-running Ugep-Idomi boundary dispute and announced the immediate suspension of the curfew earlier imposed on the affected communities.
Speaking at a peace and security meeting held at the Biase Local Government Council Secretariat in Ibogo, Odey, who chairs the State Boundary Committee, said the government allocated the disputed 453 hectares of land by assigning 203.85 hectares (45 per cent) to Ugep, 181.20 hectares (40 per cent) to Idomi, while 67.95 hectares (15 per cent) was reserved as a neutral government buffer zone.
He said the decision followed extensive consultations and careful consideration of all relevant facts, stressing that the allocation was aimed at achieving justice, peace and harmonious coexistence between the two neighbouring communities.
The Deputy Governor condemned the recent violence that claimed lives and destroyed property, commending traditional rulers, security agencies, government officials and technical teams for ensuring a peaceful boundary demarcation exercise.
Odey warned that anyone who tampers with government-installed boundary beacons or violates the new demarcation would face prosecution. He also directed residents and farmers to resume normal activities while respecting the newly established boundary and avoiding the designated buffer zone until further directives.
He urged traditional rulers and community leaders to sustain peace, insisting that the Governor Bassey Otu administration would not tolerate actions capable of reigniting the conflict.
Yakurr Local Government Chairman, Hon. Yibala Inyang, described the government’s intervention as a major step toward ending a dispute that had lingered for decades, while the Obol Lopon of Ugep, HRM Obol Ofem Ubana, and HRH Ofem Inah pledged support for the peace process and government’s decision.
However, in court documents filed at the High Court, the Ugep community rejected the allocation formula, describing it as unconstitutional, illegal and a violation of its ancestral land rights.
The claimants argued that the government’s decision breached their constitutional rights to fair hearing and protection of property, maintaining that the disputed Ketabebe lands belong to Ugep under customary ownership.
The community also relied on a 1992 High Court judgment, delivered by Justice Walter Onnoghen, which reportedly nullified an earlier government attempt to establish a buffer zone in the same area. They contended that the judgment remains valid and binding.
According to the suit, Ugep accused the government of obtaining an undertaking from the community under duress and alleged that the Surveyor-General was directed to conduct a survey favourable to Idomi.
The claimants further alleged that the government’s actions had encouraged incursions into Ugep farmlands by persons from Idomi, resulting in destruction of crops, intimidation of farmers, particularly women, and loss of livelihoods.
Among the reliefs sought, the community asked the court to declare the land allocation null and void, restrain further surveys or acquisition of its land without due process, affirm its customary rights over the disputed area and award ₦500 million in damages against the state government and the Idomi community.
The suit sets the stage for a legal battle over the disputed frontier land even as the state government continues efforts to restore lasting peace between the neighbouring communities following the suspension of the curfew.
