Lawmakers Seek Synergy Between Cross River, Ebonyi

Members of the Cross River State House of Assembly (CRSHA) have condemned as barbaric and inhuman the killings and various acts of violence visited on the people of Osopong I ward in Obubra Local Government Area of the State.
The Assembly was reacting to a matter of urgent public interest brought before it by member representing Obubra I State constituency, Hon Okpechi Friday Gabriel, who reported the crisis between two warring communities in Osopong I and II Wards of Obubra I State Constituency.
In a resolution condemning this act of savage in its entirety, the members also resolved to send a special House Committee on a fact-finding visit to the affected Community to interact with the people and assure them of the House’ support.
The House therefore urged the Cross River State Government to ensure immediate intervention by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) by providing urgent relief materials to alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the crisis
According to the six point resolutions by the House, the special Committee was further mandated to interface with the Ebonyi State House of Assembly to proffer a permanent solution to the crisis and other pending contentious issues.
The House also urged the State government to liaise with the Ebonyi State Government to secure the release of three (3) Cross River indigenes arrested and detained in Ebonyi State or alternatively, transfer them to the Cross River State Police Command for necessary action.
Similarly, the Assembly called on the National Boundary Commission (NBC) to as a matter of urgency demarcate the boundary as well as create a buffer zone between the two states as part of measures to resolve the lingering communal crises.
Addressing members’ contributions on the floor, the Speaker, Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon John Gaul Lebo, noted that if the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has been duly informed and the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Enugu charged to intervene in the crisis, the resolution would be in the interest of both Cross River and Ebonyi States.
In bringing the CRSHA up-to-speed on the issue, Okpechi said the crisis between involving both communities was predicated on alleged ritual killings by the Ibo-speaking people of Izi-Ikwo Clan in Ebonyi State, who are under Osopong ward II in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River.
According to him, contrary to insinuations of being a land dispute, it was reported that on January 10, 2017, one Isangha Johna was allegedly beheaded by the Izi-Ikwo people, who apparently went hunting for a human skull to perform the burial rites of their late Chief that took place on January 15, 2017. This dastardly act eventually led to serious crises with the resultant destruction of lives and property in the affected communities.
The Assemblyman, who gave further insights on his motion of urgent public importance, said investigations revealed that when the body of the late Chief was exhumed, two human heads were purportedly discovered in the grave.
He however claimed that three persons from Osopong I Ward, had been arrested and detained for several weeks under the Ebonyi State Police Command and pleaded that government should take urgent measures to resolve the crises in the overall interest of the affected communities and the two neighbouring states of Cross River and Ebonyi.