From Magnus Eze, Enugu
The Erei communities on the western bank of Cross River State and the Unwana community, Afikpo, Ebonyi State have jointly entered into a Memorandum of Understanding geared towards having sustainable peace, despite their differences.
The peace pact was mutually entered into by elders, stakeholders and some village heads of both parties, including the Chairman of Biase and Afikpo North Local Government Areas, Ada Egwu and Uche Ibiam, respectively.
In the MoU dated September 23, 2022 and titled: “The roadmap to genuine and lasting peace,” the people appealed to the governments of Cross River and Ebonyi states to take measures towards finding lasting solution to the inter-community crisis in Western Erei, to enable the internally displaced persons, most of who are taking refuge in Unwana and Afikpo communities, to return to their homes.
Other major decisions agreed on were total ban on sporadic shootings within Unwana territory, as well as mounting serious checks by vigilance and security agents along Unwana-Erei route, especially during late hours; ensuring that the displaced Erei indigenes taking refuge in Unwana and Afikpo do not cause security risk, and have joint periodic meetings with the mandate to resolving issues of common concern to sustain mutual trust.
They also agreed to appeal to the government to consider payment of compensation to both communities, in order to mitigate their losses. The Erei and Unwana people had enjoyed peaceful and harmonious coexistence for decades until a few years ago when intractable crisis erupted between factional villages in Ireland, leading to the phenomenon of internally displaced persons numbering hundreds.
An indigene of Umuolor-Erei in Biase, Cross River State, was gruesomely murdered along Unwana-Erei road by armed men, on March 13, 2022. The event attracted violent reactions by Erei youths who embarked on unwarranted midnight invasion and wanton destruction of properties worth millions of naira and abducted six indigenes of Unwana. The abductees were later released on the intervention of the Ebonyi and Cross River states joint security operatives.
The endorsement of the MoU has finally brought to the barest minimum fears of attacks by commuters along Unwana-Erei road as well as residents of Erei and Unwana, host town of the Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic. The official handover of the peace pact document was recently handed over by the President General, Nzuko Unwana, Elder Nkama to the initiator of the peace negotiation, Dr. Mike Okoro (aka Vote for Jesus) during a joint meeting of Edda Peoples Assembly and the Afikpo North Elders Consultative Forum.
Receiving the report, Okoro commended the two parties for the resolution to imbibe peace, noting that the roadmap to lasting peace was a clear indication that the intra community crisis with the Erei people would be the next agenda to be tackled so that the displaced persons of Erei communities would be resettled.
He, therefore, with the mandate of the joint Edda and Afikpo North stakeholders at the meeting constituted a 20-member committee to handle the assignment.