Boundary Dispute: Community sues Cross River govt over controversial buffer zone

Traditional rulers and representatives of the Ugep community in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State have filed a suit against the Cross River State Government over its proposed creation of a buffer zone between Ugep and Idomi communities.

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The claimants are asking a Cross River State High Court in Calabar to nullify the government’s decision to apportion the disputed land in the ratio of 45 per cent to Ugep, 40 per cent to Idomi, and 15 per cent to the state government.

The suit, dated 6 July and seen by this newspaper, was filed by traditional rulers including Aka Enyong, Micheal Ibiang, and four others, for themselves and on behalf of the Ugep community. The defendants are Ofem Edet, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, and the Surveyor-General of Cross River State, among others. The case was instituted on behalf of the claimants by a lawyer, Okoi Obono-Obla.

Why the community is suing

In the suit, the claimants contend that the state’s decision to allocate the disputed land using the 45-40-15 formula violates their constitutional right to own property under Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

They also challenge an undertaking allegedly signed on 11 June 2026, arguing that it was executed without consulting the traditional custodians of the land, making it “illegal, capricious, arbitrary,” and a violation of their right to a fair hearing under Section 36 of the Constitution.

The claimants further argue that the Surveyor-General cannot lawfully survey or demarcate the disputed land without their consent or the participation of surveyors nominated by the community. They also ask the court to declare that the government cannot compulsorily acquire the land without complying with the procedures prescribed under the Land Use Act, 1978.

Previous judgment cited

The claimants told the court that the proposed buffer zone had already been determined by a state high court in Cross River about three decades ago.

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According to the suit, the government’s latest decision ignored “the subsisting judgment of Cross River High Court No. 6, Moore Road, Calabar… which quashed the government’s White Paper on the buffer zone option, and which judgment remains valid, binding, and unappealed.”

They further argue that the renewed attempt to create the buffer zone is barred by the doctrine of estoppel per rem judicatam under Section 173 of the Evidence Act, 2011. Estoppel per rem judicatam is a legal doctrine that prevents a party from relitigating a claim or issue that has already been definitively decided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Among the reliefs sought are perpetual and mandatory injunctions restraining the government from implementing the proposed buffer zone, an order directing that any boundary delineation be conducted in line with the “1935 Yako Studies by Professor Daryll Forde,” and ₦500 million in general damages.

The Ugep community has also urged all stakeholders to respect the rule of law, uphold justice, and refrain from actions that could infringe on its claimed ancestral land rights.

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As of the time of filing this report, the Cross River State Government and other defendants had not publicly responded to the claims contained in the suit. The Cross River State Commissioner for Information, Erasmus Ekpang, did not respond to telephone calls or a text message seeking his comment.

When contacted regarding the allegation by the Ugep community that an undertaking signed at the police headquarters in Cross River by one of their leaders and the Paramount Ruler of Yakurr LGA, Ofem Eteng, was done under duress, the police spokesman in the state, Eitokpah Sunday, stated that the police were not involved in the land sharing but only “provided security alongside the military.”