Benue Community Attacks Yala Over Land In Renewed Crises

The destruction at Yache community after the May 6, 2017 attack (Photo: Facebook/SaintAugustine Adula Odey)

Hostilities between Tivs in Konshisha local government area of Southern Benue state and communities in Yache, Yala local government area of northern Cross River State recently renewed with several left injured.
The communities affected include Otrukpo, Oripua, Adikpe in Gabu clans and Osina, Aliforkpa, Wonye, Uchu as well as Ijiegu; all clans in Yache.
This followed an invasion by the Tivs on Uchu community in Yache which left a resident in the Ejepe compound seriously injured and currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Ogoja local government area following machete and axe cuts from the invading Tivs, CrossRiverWatch gathered.
“The attack which came on Saturday, May 6, 2017 is the most recent and deadly of several waves of incursion into Yache lands,” said Onah (not actual name), a native of Alifokpa resident in Uchu 2, both in Yache told CrossRiverWatch.
“There is a forest reserve which was planted in the colonial era and nicknamed Lugard wall that is been depleted daily by the Tivs mostly and a few Yache people with the Tivs often crossing it and claiming lands in Yache, especially in the Gabu clan of Yache,” Onah added.
A former Chairman of Yala local government council, Gabe Ugor took to Facebook to vent his frustrations and outlined steps he had taken as Chairman and promised to write to the current administration on the issue.
“Back then, I was always encouraging our people to create settlements at the Lugard Wall that rightly belong to Cross River State with the view to stopping the incursions of Tivs into our land. It is worth mentioning here that the journalist, Mr. Matthias Oko that reported this unfortunate and unwarranted invasion, assault and maiming of lives and destruction of the homes of Yache people of CRS was always representing the neighboring Gabu Community each time the peace meetings were called.
“I also wrote to the immediate past Governor of CRS to urge the Forestry Commission to reintroduce the planting of economic trees as replacement for this famous Lugard Wall that fell owed to the indiscriminate sawing and logging of our economic trees by the Tivs,” he wrote.

Displaced residents of Yache after the attack by Tivs on May 6, 2017 (Photo: Facebook/SaintAugustine Adula Odey)

However, he listed 3 steps to be taken. They include an afforestation program to remind the Tivs that the land belongs to Cross River State and that the reserve still serves as the geographical boundary between the two States and most importantly, the demarcation between the Southern and Northern Nigeria.
He called on the Cross River State Forestry Commission to reintroduce the Forest Rangers  to save the reserve since the commission’s office established by the then Southern Eastern Region is still located at at Alifokpa as it will help curb incursion and a peace meeting consisting of the chairmen of Yala and Konshisha Local Government Councils or their representatives, traditional rulers, elders and youths of both states to improve relationships.