No fewer than 676 persons have been killed in various communal and boundary disputes in Nigeria between January 2018 and August 2022, according to findings by The PUNCH.

Also, no fewer than 444 houses were destroyed during the crises in the period under review.

This is happening as security agencies battle to contain bandits, militants, and other violent crimes across the country.

Security experts said the development required urgent intervention to prevent it from threatening the 2023 general elections, adding that the situation might worsen the security crisis in the country if the government failed to address the situation on time.

Findings indicate that most of the clashes resulted from unresolved age-long disputes, while a few others are fresh cases.

A breakdown, according to states, indicated that Ebonyi State recorded the highest communal clashes in the country with 131 deaths; Taraba State, 116. Benue had 92 incidents, Kogi 67, and Cross River 73.

These were the five worst-hit states within the period.

Further breakdown of the incidents showed that a total of 113 persons were killed in 2022.

In Ebonyi, 63 persons were murdered during boundary disputes/communal clashes; Kogi 27; Cross River 8; Gombe 1; Niger 4; Akwa Ibom 3; Benue 2; Taraba 4 and Enugu 1.

In 2021, 185 persons were reportedly killed and they included 40 persons in Ebonyi; Benue 48; Gombe 22; Taraba 11; Cross River 3; and Akwa Ibom 2.

Others were Abia 3; Kwara 5 ; Oyo 2 ; Osun 6; Ondo 3; Edo 1; Yobe 11; Adamawa 13 ; Niger 3; Anambra 2 ; Bauchi and Delta had five cases each.

The year 2020 recorded the least number of incidents and causalities as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, 27 deaths were recorded with nine killed in Benue; Abia 2; Taraba 5; Anambra 4; Ondo 2 and Delta 5.

A total of 121 persons were killed in 2019 with Kogi accounting for 30; Ebonyi 15; Taraba 23 ; Benue 21; Cross River 18; Ondo 4 ; Bayelsa 2 ; Lagos-1 and Edo 7.

In 2018, a total of 230 persons were allegedly slain with six killed in Adamawa; Delta 12 ; Kwara 2; Cross River 44; Kogi 10; Abia 10 ; Nasarawa 39 ; Ebonyi 13; Gombe 1; Taraba 73 ; Benue 12 and Niger 8.

Further breakdown revealed that within the five-year under review, Delta recorded 22 deaths; Nasarawa 39; Gombe 24; Adamawa 19; Niger 15; Abia 15; Yobe 11; Kwara 7 ;Ondo 9; Anambra 6; Bayelsa 2; Edo 8; Bauchi 5; Akwa Ibom 5; Osun 6, Enugu 1; Lagos 1 and Oyo 2.

Commenting on the sad development, the National Boundary Commission said most of the clashes involved unresolved age-long disputes over boundaries, farmland and natural resources.

The commission in a report made available to The PUNCH disclosed that it was handling 86 disputes across the country.

The report provided by the NBC Director-General, Adamu Adaji, explained that the North-West zone currently has 15 interstate disputes; North-Central 15; North-East 14; South-West 14; South-South 14 and South-East 14.

On the measures adopted to manage the issues, the commission disclosed that it had established functional boundary committees in local government areas across the country; erected boundary pillars, and also embarked on enlightenment campaigns.

“The commission has also adopted a policy on equitable sharing of straddling resources between affected states, local governments, and communities as the case may be,’’ the agency stated.

Speaking further on solutions to boundary disputes and communal clashes, the NBC said, ‘’The issue of prevention of clashes is normally handled by law enforcement agencies. However, the commission has resolved many boundary disputes.

“One of the main mandates of the commission is to intervene, determine and deal with any boundary dispute that may arise among local government areas or communities with a view to settling it.

“The commission has a total of 86 interstate boundary disputes out of which a number of interventions have been carried out, depending on the merit of the issues. Over half of these boundary disputes have been resolved while others are at different stages of the intervention process.’’

The report further clarified that disputes might be due to a quest for farmlands, infrastructure, or natural resources along the boundaries.

In boundary matters that were decided by the court, the commission said it would act as directed by the judicial authorities.

“In such cases, if the final judgment has not been given by the highest court, there is room for appeal but if the final judgment has been given, the commission will act as directed by the highest court,’’ it stated.

Experts blame governors

Also, a former Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Ojukwu, stated that interstate boundary disputes make the states vulnerable, adding that contiguous states should work together to address such crises.

The former force spokesman said, “Some disputes are borne out of claims and counter-claims over mineral resources or land for agricultural purposes, or to gain from dividends flowing from siting of industrial concerns. All of these pose serious security implications.

“Contiguous states ought to collaborate in preventing and solving crime since what happens in one has a possibility of spilling to the other. Where they are enmeshed in boundary conflicts, they see themselves as competitors. Criminals are watching. They take advantage of the schism and endanger the people.

“Some of such disputes arise from political differences between the respective governors. As they dissipate energy over boundaries, they spend security votes on irrelevant matters, leaving their states exposed.

“Also, the heads of security outfits in the contending states may take sides, and may fail, where they ought to share information and network.”

A security analyst, Chidi Omeje, attributed recurring communal clashes to poverty and bad governance.

According to him, the high casualties from the disputes showed that the nation is still largely underdeveloped.

Omeje, who attributed the communal conflicts to poverty and bad governance, said, “The fact that we are still engaged in ceaseless communal disputes shows our level of underdevelopment as a people because 62 years after independence, we ought to have gone beyond this level of cruel attack against one another.

“By and large, the fact that it is recurring goes to show some level of poverty within those communities. A progressive community will not be so tied to those land issues. Poverty and bad governance are the foundation of the communal strike.

“These communal clashes get worse when the government fails to resolve the issues with leaders in the communities. Government must see it as a serious large-scale crisis.”

Also, a security expert, Jackson Ojo, blamed the government for polarising the communities and supporting one against the other.

“For example, when the Ijaw and the Itsekiri were fighting during the era of Obasanjo, we saw what happened that time because the Itsekiri are like the Yoruba. We saw that the government of the day was supporting the Itsekiri. So, that is the issue,’’ he noted.

He, however, added that the tense security situation in the country also contributed to the agitations by communities and advised that the government must promptly step in to nip it in the bud.

Meanwhile, a former director, Department of State Services, Mike Ejiofor, described the communal clashes as “truly disturbing” and called on local and state governments to intervene, adding that where the state government could not resolve the disputes, the Federal Government must step in.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ifedayo Adedipe, said it was regrettable that some communities violated court judgments on boundary disputes.

“There are places where you have the National Boundary Commission (demarcation) which regrettably will appear not to be up to date. Also, if there are departments of the government responsible for overseeing issues concerning boundaries, these incidents will be reduced. But where the court gives a judgment and there is no political will to enforce it, boundary disputes are bound to keep reoccurring. It is regrettable that people die as a result of boundary disputes. If two communities have disputes over boundaries and the court of law addresses it one way or the other, the parties involved should go with the court’s decision, irrespective of their choices,’’ he submitted.

Also, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oluseun Abimbola, queried the tendency of some Nigerians to resort to violence to settle disputes.

“Why is there this tendency in us as a people to take laws into our hands? That should tell you about the history of how successive administrations have managed and disrespected the rule of law. If there is no respect for the rule of law from the government, the people will not respect the rule of law,’’ he argued.

The lawyer blamed a lack of respect for the rule of law for the conflicts, stressing that the citizens involved in violent communal clashes were emulating the government’s lawlessness.

“If the government upholds the rule of law, no citizen will have the confidence to challenge the rule of law but when citizens begin to challenge the rule of law it’s because they see that the governor does the same,” Abimbola stressed

Meanwhile, tension had on Monday gripped residents of the Ogbe-Ijoh community in Delta State as angry youths, under the auspices of the Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom Interest and Defensive Forum, protested the alleged destruction of houses in the area over boundary adjustment.

The aggrieved youth accused the chairmen of Udu and Warri South West local government areas, Jite Brown and Taiye Tuoyo respectively “of unlawful destruction of houses in Ogbe-Ijoh community in the name of a boundary adjustment.”

The protesting youths, while faulting the genuineness of the Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh boundary committee, gave the two council chairmen seven days ultimatum within which to rebuild the destroyed houses, “to avoid a showdown.”

It was gathered that the group reportedly faulted the purported boundary committee for not seeking the consent of the Ogbe-Ijoh community before embarking on the destruction of some buildings in the community.

Senate meets IGP

Meanwhile, the Senate has asked the heads of relevant security agencies and the Judiciary to prosecute apprehended terrorists and oil thieves in the country.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said this at a meeting between the leadership of the senate and Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, and heads of other security agencies in the country.

Lawan said that doing this would give Nigerians the assurance that nobody “is above the laws” of the land by undermining the stability of the country.

He further said allowing apprehended terrorists or oil thieves to escape justice would not augur well for the country.

He said, “While we fight the insecurity in the country, sometimes we capture bandits alive as well as those stealing crude oil on a daily basis.

“We want to see the trials of the people who are caught because when this happens, citizens will know that nobody, no matter how high that person is, can’t go scot-free if he or she decides to get involved in this kind of criminal activity.

“We also appeal to our courts, the judiciary that once we have cases like this, we must give expeditious consideration. Because these are the issues that today, are militating against our stability and even against our democracy.”

On the issue of oil theft, Lawan said the nation was losing a lot of money and enjoined the judiciary to make allowances for the immediate prosecution of oil thieves.

He added, “We lose so much of our fuel. As at the last count, the report was that we export just a little above 900,000 barrels and that is just about 50 per cent of the quantity expected to be exported. It is supposed to be 1.8 million barrels per day and that is affecting our revenues and resources for development.

“The judiciary should therefore give special consideration. Once oil thieves are taken to court, we must prosecute them because it is not enough just take away whatever they have stolen and say go and sin no more.”

The Senate President, however, commended the Security Chiefs for the remarkable difference made within the last four months in the war against insurgency and banditry.

He said security as appropriated in the 2021 and 2022 national budgets, will take the lion’s share of the 2023 budgets in terms of appropriation.

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