Cross River State: The untold story of Onyodama, Nko, and Inyima land dispute

Emeka Ibemere

Following the purported news reports in the media over the disputed land case between the people of Onyodama in Obubra Local Government Area on one hand, and Nko as well as Inyima in Yakurr Local Government Area, both of Cross River State, on the other hand, the people of Onyodama has cried out to the fact that the issues have been misplaced.

In a Press Release made available to the Daily Newswatch on weekend, the indigenes of Onyodama stated that the people of Inyima are tenants in the land which belongs to Onyodama, but that because they were always in alliance with Nko in Yakurr Local Government Area, who share a boundary with Onyodama in Obubra Local Government, they now claim Onyodama land.

According to the Onyodama people, Inyima are not the owners of the land they are claiming to be theirs.

“The people of Inyima have posited that the land which they inhabit and their farm lands are theirs; and that the people of Onyodama are merely causing trouble on what does not belong to them. This is absolute fallacy which has no basis for veracity”, Luke Abeng stated.

“History attests to the fact that the people of Inyima were given their present place of abode by Onyodama. The Inyima village was to act as a buffer zone between the communities of Assiga and Nko in the present day Yakurr Local government Area and Onyodama in Obubra Local Government Area, both of Cross River State. It is necessary to know that before 1987 all these communities were in the present day Obubra Local Government Area”.

Abeng further disclosed that from 1928 to 1975, that Inyima people were tenants to Onyodama and were paying yearly rent to their landlord community. He said that in 1976, the people of Inyima refused to pay the yearly rents and instead of fulfilling their civic obligations in honoring the payment of the yearly rents, they instituted a court case against Onyodama, their landlord community for decades and started claiming damages.

“The contention of Inyima then was that as tenants, a portion of land where they make their farms should not have been given to the Cross River State Government for experimental farming without their permission”, Abeng explained.

It was gathered that at the High Court of Obubra and Court of Appeal, Enugu, that Inyima community lost their cases and rather paid cost awarded against them in 1988 and 1999, respectively.

“From 1999 till date, Inyima, in alliance with Nko community in Yakurr LGA, have always been the aggressors, resulting in one form of trouble to another with Onyodama and Ebo communities of Oderegha in Obubra LGA”, Chief Abeng further stated.

“Since 2006, Inyima and Nko communities have kidnapped and murdered five men and a young girl from Onyodama. All this incidents have been duly reported to all security agencies in the state with pictures of some of the bodies whose heads were missing”.

He said the recent altercation started when Onyodama men caught an Inyima person destroying farm crops and allegedly manhandled the aggressor and had his motorcycle collected from him as an exhibit but that the men were allegedly attacked by combined forces of Inyima and Nko people who overpowered the men from Onyodama. This was what led the women of Onyodama to initiate a peace move.

The peace move in May 2013, according to Chief Abeng was also to stop the people of Inyima and Nko not to carry out mass destruction of economic and farm crops belonging to the people of Onyodama and Ebo on their farmlands.

On May 28, 2013, Daily Newswatch learned that Onyodama and Ebo women led by Mrs. Alice Onoh, a woman leader, made a peaceful move to Inyima to find out from their chiefs, elders and women their reasons for their alleged incessant actions in allegedly killings of Onyodama people and the destruction of their economic and farm crops. That peace move according to Abeng didn’t attract that sympathy of Inyima people. In that visit, it was gathered that Inyima people mocked at the women from Onyodama by throwing sand, stones and water at them.

“On May 30, 2013, one Mr. Azogor Akami Azogor from Inyima was caught stealing cassava belonging to one Mr. Ayang Ebughe from Onyodama. The suspect was subsequently handed over to the police in Obubra. On hearing this incident, the people of Inyima resorted to illegal means by being violent against Onyodama and Ebo people, chasing farmers who were working on their farms with guns and machetes, and destroying their farm crops worth millions of naira”, Abeng said.

 “Some of the victims whose farm crops were destroyed by Inyima and Nko people are Mr. Edom Oben, Mr. Moses Mbang, Mr. Ovat Idop Abeng, Mr. Obeten Erong, Mr. Edom Abeng, Mr. Ovat Eden and many others”.

As that wasn’t enough, on May 31, 2013, a combined force of Inyima and Nko people again invaded the farmlands of Ebo people, chased the people from their farms with guns and machetes to a point close to their village. In this encounter, Abeng claimed that one Mr. Oben Eden escaped by whiskers from being killed.

 Abeng also disclosed that on June 1, 2013, another combined force of Inyima and Nko people who were well armed launched a full-scale attack on Ebo village and shot sporadically at the people. According to him, it was when the people Ebo were trying to defend themselves that they had to launch a reprisal attack on their aggressors which resulted in the immediate crisis on ground.

Abeng said. “In several publications and write-ups by Inyima and Nko people, the public has been misinformed that the lingering crisis is between Inyima and Nko people on the one hand against the people of Adun clan. This is pure fallacy. The truth is that the issue has always been between Nko and Inyima people against Onyodama and Ebo communities of Oderegha towns who are the rightful owners of the land. Inyima has always been a tenant to Onyodama, but they are claiming ownership of the land now”.

“Historically, the Adun clan comprises many villages in the present day Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River State. Therefore, the generalization that the entire Adun clan is involved in the ongoing crisis is misleading, malicious and capable of damaging the image and reputation of the ever friendly, accommodating and peace loving people of Adun clan”.

The community leader however reemphasized that the government and the general public should be properly guided that the lingering crisis is not between Onyodama and Ebo communities of Oderegha town in Obubra Local Government Area against Inyima, their tenants, and Nko community in Yakurr Local Government Area, both of Cross River State.

“Since no community ever progresses in the midst of crisis, we passionately appeal to the Cross River State Government and the Federal Government to look into this matter in a bid to restore the much desired peace in these communities once and for all”, Abeng pleaded.

When Newswatch Daily sought the views of some prominent leaders of the community on the matter, the clan head of Onyodama community, His Royal Majesty, Chief Vincent Erena Enang, was much peeved. He said: “It is quite inconceivable and very unfortunate too, that a tenant is now claiming ownership of a land he was given to stay. Inyima people have always been tenants in the land they are residing. Even before I was born, it had been like that. It is baffling then that they are now claiming ownership of the land.

“Historical documents have always been there showing that from 1928 when the people of Inyima were allowed to settle where they are now till 1975 they were paying rent to Onyodama people, the lawful owners of the land. During this time there was relative peace existing between the two communities. But it was from 1976 onward that Inyima started causing problems. In fact, that year they sued Onyodama community, contending that as tenants, a portion of land where they made their farms should not have been given to the Cross River State government for experimental farming without their permission. They lost the case both at Obubra High Court and the Appeal Court, Enugu, and consequently damages were awarded against them in 1988 and 1989”, the traditional ruler averred.

 “But since 1999 till date, Inyima decided to enter into a very, very unholy alliance with the people of Nko in Yakurr Local Government with whom we share boundary, and to be attacking us. And all this time, we have been enduring their attack, and always seeking how to make peace with them. Their aggression on us became so persistent that we had to defend ourselves. It is like a man whose enemy persistently tries to poke a finger into his eye-balls with impunity. He has to react naturally. So, my brother that is the genesis of this crisis.

“However, the annoying part of the problem is that the people of Inyima with the support of Nko people have been going to the media misinforming people about the facts of the matter. They are saying that Inyima is the lawful owner of the land and that Onyodama is causing problem in the land that does not belong to them. They also claim that the dispute is between the Inyima and Nko communities on the one hand and whole of Adun clan. This is not true. Adun clan is made up of many villages of which Onyodama is one of them. The crisis does not involve Adun clan as whole at all, it is between Onyodama and them,” he said.

Also speaking on the matter, the Chairman of the Village Council, Mr. Martin Ntor, said: “This problem has snowballed into this height because the government has not been very decisive in taking action to curb the problem all this while. For the umpteenth time, we have gone to the government to put an end to this crisis, but they have been too lackadaisical about it, especially the present government. In fact, during the government of Donald Duke, one of the recommendations was that Inyima community should belong to Obubra Local Government Area since the land in which they reside is within the territory of Obubra LGA, instead of paying allegiance in tax and other dues to Yakurr Local Government. And, of course, it is not rational that a man living in Lagos State pays taxes and other dues to Ogun State government. Will Lagos State government like it? He queried.

“When the present government assumed office, it was also recommended that there should be an adjustment at the boundary between Onyodama and Nko, which has always been a boiling point. It was recommended that 50 kilometers portion of land each should be removed from both sides of the boundary between the two communities to be made as a buffer zone for the government so that no community will lay claim to that portion of land. The Boundary Adjustment Committee was saddled with this responsibility which, to me, should not have taken them a long time to execute. But as usual they were nonchalant about executing the project. And because of that the crisis keeps lingering. I am sure that if they had done this, the problem would have been abated – if not solved entirely.”

The views of another prominent figure of the community were also canvassed. The Chairman, Onyodama Development Union, Lagos Branch, Engr. Sunday Ovat, spoke from the legal aspect of the matter. He said since all channels of communication have been explored to make the government take action to solve the problem once and for all but without positive results, the people of Onyodama have now decided to sue the government over the problem to make them take necessary action.

“This problem has dragged on for too long. Three generations have passed since this problem started and it still lingers. We are the fourth generation to meet this problem. We have boundaries with other communities like Agoyi in the west and Assiga in the east. We have always lived peacefully with them all this while. Why is it that it is only Nko and Inyima people that we have always had problems with”?

“The government themselves are not sincere about solving this problem once and for all. In fact, I can authoritatively tell you that the government is blatantly biased in this matter. They are taking sides with Nko people. It is not fair, and it is quite unfortunate too. But we are looking on to God to fight for us. We are a very peace-loving community. The facts are they”, Ovat declared.

“Therefore, we have decided to sue the government in this matter to engage their attention fully. I am sure that if the area where the state governor comes from was the one involved in this kind of crisis, something drastic should have been done immediately to stop the lingering problem. Are you telling me that if the governor was from this community he would fold his hands comfortably as he is doing now and watch his people being hacked to death? Certainly no!

“So, that is our resolve now. We are suing the government. I am sure if we explore that option something positive will come out. We have been accommodating the people of Inyima all this while. We have never been aggressive towards them. But they have always been belligerent towards us. And while trying to be peaceable with them, we have lost countless number of people, some of them beheaded. Our farm lands have always been destroyed and the people have been made to live in fear in their own land. Why should one live in fear in his own land, why?” Ovat stated.

“We are convinced that the government has solution to this problem. We want to make them take action. Since they are indecisive about it, we want to push them to the courts. That is our next line of action.”