Eleven persons have been reportedly killed in a communal clash between Okwabang and Beebo communities of Boki East in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State.
While two persons were killed, on Friday, one each from both communities, nine Okuabang natives were hacked to death yesterday morning by Bebo guerrillas.
The two brotherly communities of Okwabang and Beebo communities, with vast amount of the state’s rainforest reserve, have been engaged in an age-long land dispute, leading to destruction of lives and property in spite of repeated peace moves.
Investigations revealed that the recent act of fratricide was as a result of suspicions that the Beebo community was harvesting commodities at a farm allegedly belonging to an Okwabang man.
It was learnt that following the suspicion, a youth leader from Okwabang, simply identified as Monjok, with his team on surveillance, accosted a group of Beebo people harvesting illegally from his farm and from there disagreement ensued, leading to shoot out and subsequently to killing of one Beebo person.
A witness, who gave his name as Johnson Abang, from Okwabang, said: “We have always disagreed over land matters for decades. But the recent tensions rose following suspicions that the Beebo community was harvesting commodities at a farm allegedly belonging to an Okwabang man.
“This got to a climax on Thursday last week when an Okwabang man accosted a group of Beebo aborigines harvesting from his farm. There and then fight broke out and later open shoot out which led to killing of one one Beebo native.
“The Okwabang man then ran to the community and reported himself. The community then took him to the Bateriko police station and he was kept on custody.”
On getting wind that one Beebo person has been killed in a farm, the youths of Beebo community mobilised and launched a reprisal attack on Okwabang community.
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