Biakpan Rulers Call For Strict Compliance, Enforcement of S'Court Judgement ... Advocate Govt Intervention
Hannah ARIKPO
The Biakpan Traditional Rulers Council and Concerned Citizens of the Biakpan community in Biase local government area have called on the Cross River state government to ensure strict compliance and immediate enforcement of the Supreme Court judgement of August one, twenty twenty-five which was delivered in its favour.
The landmark court judgement that was expected to have ended the age-long land tussle between Biakpan and its Etono 11 brothers has suffered renewed hostilities due to alleged outright disobedience to the rule of law.
Speaking at a press conference in Calabar, on behalf of the Biakpan Traditional Rulers Council and Concerned People of Biakpan community, HRH. Onun Obu Obu Enang, noted the assaults came barely two months after both communities signed a peace accord.
The Council reiterated its commitment to the peace accord signed between Biakpan and Etono II and expressed frustration over repeated provocations from Etono II. It narrated an historical coexistence and documented their communal land boundaries supported by official survey plans, challenging Etono II to produce legitimate evidence of contrary claims.
The Council further recalled landmark court decisions affirming Biakpan’s communal ownership of the land occupied by Etono II. "According to the Supreme Court judgement of 1996, the land currently occupied by Etono II village is part of Biakpan communal land under the Headship of the Paramount Ruler of Biakpan.” they stated.
Enang also cited numerous violent incidents allegedly perpetrated by Etono II against Biakpan citizens, including the destruction of cultural sites and attacks resulting in deaths and injuries. He insisted that despite pleas and peace agreements, Etono II has repeatedly rejected court orders and peace deals, with their previous leaders, dismissing the Supreme Court judgment as “unenforceable, empty, and cosmetic.”
The Council further condemned the recent burning of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star rebuilt church auditorium on October five, 2025, describing the incident as a deliberate provocation amidst the ongoing peace accord period.
The Biakpan Traditional Council lamented that it had not been their pleasure to be fighting with their brothers,
saying “There is no Biakpan person who does not have a brother in Etono II and there is no Etono II person who does not have a brother in Biakpan.”
They praised the swift intervention of Governor Bassey Edet Otu and the Biase Local Government Chairman, Edodi Eyong in time past and prayed for greater wisdom and resources to enable them to continue to deliver on the Cross River mandate as well as bring to an end the festering crises between Biakpan and Etono II based on truth, fairness and justice.”
The Council called for a decisive action and appealed to the Cross River State Government, the Inspector-General of Police, the National Human Rights Commission, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Director of State Security Service to “Enforce the judicial judgments on the matter. Arrest and prosecute all perpetrators of violence, arson, and sabotage.”
“Enough is enough, the Nigerian State must prove that no one is above the law and no community is bigger than the State," they declared.
