Communal Crisis: Ebonyi Releases White Paper
The land dispute between the Amana community in the Ezza South Local Government Area and the Ohankwu community in the Ikwo Local Government areas of the State seems to have been laid to rest, following the Ebonyi State Government’s release of a white paper on the report of the Committee on the resolution of the dispute.
Recall that the land dispute had claimed many lives with properties worth millions of naira destroyed.
This was as the Committee set up by the government recommended immediate re-establishment of cement boundary pillars to end the crisis taking bearing from existing ones to determine the owners of the disputed Lead site and surrounding farm lands under contention.
The Commissioner for Information and State Orientation in the state, Jude Okpor disclosed this in Abakaliki while briefing newsmen.
“The White Paper dated 8th November 2023 and endorsed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, contained Government’s statements of adoption of the Committee’s recommendations and the Governor’s directive to concerned ministries and departments to implement same.
“The Committee from their findings set aside the earlier report of the Ebonyi State Peace Committee which recommended the government’s acquisition of the disputed land and properties and its subsequent partitioning between the contending Communities. They observed that the CAN committee did not consult archival evidence before arriving at its decision”, he stated.
Okpor noted that the Committee further found out that the discovery of Lead, a Mineral in commercial quantity in the area and the removal of the cement boundary beacons established by the colonial masters were the immediate and remote causes of the crisis.
He explained that the committee therefore recommended immediate re-establishment of the cement boundary pillars taking bearing from existing ones as such will automatically determine the owners of the disputed Lead site and surrounding farm lands under contention.
“Such determination, the Committee believes will enable proper delineation of the boundary, and thereafter, a directive for the encroachers to retreat to their side for a lasting peace between the two communities.
“Recall that this Committee which has Engr. Ogbonnaya Obasi Abara as Chairman and Barr. Peter Ogodo as secretary was inaugurated by Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru on the 17th day of July 2023. Other members of the committee were their royal highnesses, Eze Charles Azuenya and Cosmas Agwu, as well as surveyor Augustine Okpani.
“The committee was given 4 major terms of reference which included; finding out the remote and immediate causes of the lingering crises, to reviewing existing reports and documents on the crisis submitted by previous committees set up by the government. profer solutions that will bring lasting peace among the two communities and make other recommendations as they may seem fit to forestall the recurrence of further crises.
“The Committee’s report was submitted to the State Executive Council on Wednesday, 25th October 2023”, he submitted.
