Niger Delta

Land Disputes: C’River, Ebonyi Youths Hold Peace Summit

Published

7 years ago

September 25, 2019

The warring communities in Cross River and Ebonyi States held a second peace summit in Calabar on the heels of incessant communal attacks that have claimed lives, displaced residents and destruction of property worth millions of naira over portions of land in the boundary communities.
Facilitated by the Catholic Diocese of Ogoja and Abakaliki, it drew communities from Adadama in Abi, Osokom in Obubra, Ukelle in Yala Local Government Areas of Cross River and Igbeagu in Izzi, Abakaliki and Ikwo Local Government Areas of Ebonyi States as they converged on Calabar last week to consolidate on the resolutions achieved during the first peace initiative held in Abakaliki recently.
Crusader of the Peace Summit, Rev. Fr. John Ezeh, highlighted key points of the peace efforts featuring the breaking of kolanut as a symbol of acceptance of peace that will usher in a return to mutual coexistence which has eluded these communities since two decades of hostilities amongst themselves.
The Cross River state Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, represented by the Permanent Secretary in charge of Security, Dr Alfred Mboto, urged youths in the warring communities to be law abiding and embrace peace to foster nation building.
“You cannot build a nation when you are not law abiding and being your brother’s keeper. Can you build a nation when you are insensitive to your neigbour whom you are supposed to see after his well-being?” He asked.
According to the permanent secretary, the governor expects the summit to bring lasting peace with a joint committee to discuss freely with youths from other areas while averring that those who flout the peace initiative should be treated as individuals not as a community.
“We expect that at the end of this summit, we should not have problems in these areas again. We would have a joint committee that would move freely to discuss things together and make sure that an individual crime is not generalized to become a community crime.”
On his part, the Special Adviser to the Governor in Northern Senatorial District, Mr. Leo Iyambe stressed that disarmament and security are a collective business hinting of Cross River government’s resolve in taking concerted efforts to fix security posts, flash points in Obubra, Abi and Yala Local Government.
“Security is not a one man thing, disarmament is another thing we need to discuss as youths to have relative peace. we are fixing security posts to ensure proactive movement to wade off any possible breach of peace”
Decrying the level of destruction, a youth leader from Obubra, King Omenge, enjoined youths from the warring communities who are at the receiving end as key actors of the incessant crisis to ensure peace is attained at all cost so as to return to the good old days as neighbours.
“Peace has eluded us in our area and we have concluded that this war has really destroyed and killed a lot of people. We cannot continue to kill ourselves, let us do everything possible to see how we can return to the good old days we used to live in peace”
Heaving a sigh of relief with news of disarmament from youths in Ebonyi and Cross River, Omenge said; “so far after our meeting in Abakaliki early this month, we went home with resolutions to disarm our youths in the bush and that has been achieved.”
The summit which did not touch on areas like; remote causes of the crisis, sponsors and blame game attracted top security Chiefs in Cross River, clergy, political leaders in the three local governments in Ebonyi as well as community leaders who resolved to work in harmony to ensure that peace is achieved at all cost.

Niger Delta

CSOs, Bille Community Urge Solution To Persistent Underwater Gas Eruption

Published

9 hours ago

April 10, 2026

The Tide

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the people of Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State have called for government’s urgent intervention to end the suspected underwater gas eruption in the community.

The groups, under the aegis of the Environmental Rights Action and Social Action, made the call during their advocacy visit to the Port Harcourt Zonal Head of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), in Port Harcourt.

The Programme Manager of Environmental Rights Action, Mr. Kentebe Ebiaridor, said the visit was to seek clarity on the response efforts of the regulators to the development in the community.

Ebiaridor expressed concern over what he described as “inadequate response from regulatory agencies and the government concerning the incident”.

He said discussions with some officials revealed that there was still no clear timeline for action to address the situation.

According to him, in the absence of clear ownership of the facility linked to the incident, companies operating within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 18 should be held accountable.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) had in a statement issued on March 20 by its Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the commission had commenced an investigation into a gas bubbling incident in Bille Community.

Eyesan said the commission expressed concern over the development and assured residents of its ongoing efforts to address the situation.

Also, the Resource Justice Manager of Social Action, Dr. Prince Edegbuo, warned that the situation could escalate into a public health emergency, if urgent steps were not taken.

Edegbuo called on relevant authorities to release the results of the tests reportedly conducted in the area, stressing that residents had the right to know the condition of their environment.

He also said CSOs were prepared to intensify advocacy on the matter, urging the development of emergency response measures, including possible evacuation plans.

A legal practitioner and community stakeholder, Mr. Commission Deinbo, had, on March 20, said residents had continued to witness unusual signs on the waterways in the area.

Deinbo said the signs included boiling and bubbling from the ground and river, sometimes within residential areas, as well as fire outbreaks, which the residents had always managed to contain.

He appealed to relevant authorities to come to their aid and find a lasting solution to the problem.

In a response, the Port Harcourt Zonal Head of NOSDRA, Mr. Bello Augustin, assured the community that he would relate its concerns to the appropriate quarters.

Augustin also commended the CSOs for their advocacy and concerns to community development in the state.

By: Wokoma Emmanuel & Theresa Frederick

Niger Delta

Police Detain 7, Recover Arms In A’Ibom

Published

13 hours ago

April 10, 2026

The Tide

The Police Command in Akwa Ibom State has detained seven suspects and recovered firearms after raiding a criminal hideout in Ndiya Mfia, Ikono Local Government Area.of the State.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, made the disclosure in a statement in Uyo on Wednesday.

John said that the breakthrough which occurred at about 6.00a.m on Wednesday, followed credible intelligence from members of the public.

“We reliably gathered that criminal suspects were hibernating in a compound disguised as worshippers.

“In a decisive operation, our personnel conducted a thorough search of the premises which led to the detention and recovery of arms,” she said.

According to her, the operation was in line with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police to decisively combat crime in the country.

The police spokesman further said that two locally made double-barrel guns, five expended cartridges, four motorcycles and three generators were recovered during the operation.

She also listed 10 mobile phones, one police crest, four jungle boots, one peak cap, saw blade, spanner, number plates, machetes, a special force vest as other items recovered.

“We also found bottles of suspected spiritual oil and one enlarged photograph linked to an ongoing investigation,” she said.

John said that preliminary investigation suggested that the location was being used as cover for criminal operations.

She said the State’s Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Azare, has directed a comprehensive investigation on the matter in order to apprehend the principal suspect.

John expressed the commitment of the Command to rid the state of crime, and urged members of the public to always support the police with timely and credible information.

Niger Delta

Otu Launches Grassroot Security Network In C’River

Published

13 hours ago

April 10, 2026

The Tide

Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has launched a grassroots security intelligence network, named, ”Homeland Safety and Security Agency,” to strengthen community-based surveillance and enhance safety across the state.

Otu, who inaugurated the agency’s office in the Southern Senatorial District of the state on Monday, in Calabar, said similar offices were being inaugurated in the Central and Northern Senatorial Districts.

The Governor, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Emmanuel Ironbar, said the officials of the agency would serve as first point of call before matters would be escalated to main security architecture in the state.

He described Homeland Security as an intelligence-driven structure focused on neighbourhood monitoring and early threat detection through coordinated local efforts.

He said the initiative constituted the directors and field operatives, tasked with gathering and forwarding intelligence to relevant security agencies for prompt action.

Otu noted that the network would serve as a first point of contact before intervention by conventional security agencies.

“It is important that we enhance monitoring of movements across our communities, border areas, and riverine zones to identify suspicious activities and enhance security response.

“The state government will provide necessary gadgets and communication tools to improve efficiency and real-time intelligence sharing,” he said.

Otu called for public cooperation, stressing that ‘’security is a collective responsibility requiring timely information from residents.’’

He said, ‘’to ensure that the security outfit works like a model unit, proper screening would be conducted on the volunteers to weed out undesirable elements from the system.’’

The Tide’s source reports that the Governor handed over 14 motor bikes to the agency’s southern Senatorial district office to enhance their efficiency.

On his part, the Director-General, South of the agency, Mr. Michael Nsan, said the volunteers had played key roles in reducing crime through coordinated patrols and intelligence sharing.

Nsan said over 1,300 volunteers currently supported the operations with additional informants providing critical information across communities.

“Crime rates dropped significantly during the last festive period due to our collaboration with law enforcement agencies in the state,” he said.

The Director-General said volunteers would undergo training and screening, with plans underway for formal recruitment through a government employment portal.

According to him, communication tools, including walkie-talkies, and patrol motorcycles had improved rapid response to security incidents.

He commended the governor’s commitment, noting that the initiative would further strengthen security architecture and community safety across the state.

The source reports that some of the dignitaries who graced the occasion were traditional rulers and government officials.