Ugep Community Sues Cross River Government Over Land Dispute

Traditional rulers and representatives from Ugep community in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State have taken legal action against the Cross River State Government. They are opposing the government's plan to create a buffer zone between Ugep and Idomi communities.

The claimants want a Cross River State High Court in Calabar to cancel the government's decision to share the disputed land. They say the land should be divided 45 percent to Ugep, 40 percent to Idomi, and 15 percent to the state government.

The suit was filed on 6 July. It was seen by this newspaper and is signed by traditional rulers, including Aka Enyong, Micheal Ibiang, and four others, representing the Ugep community. The defendants in the case include Ofem Edet, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, and the Surveyor-General of Cross River State. A lawyer, Okoi Obono-Obla, filed the case for the claimants.

Reasons for the Lawsuit

In the suit, the claimants argue that the state's decision to allocate the land using the 45-40-15 formula goes against their right to own property as stated in Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

They also claim that an agreement signed on 11 June 2026 was done without consulting the traditional land custodians. They label this act as "illegal, capricious, arbitrary," and a breach of their right to a fair hearing under Section 36 of the Constitution.

The claimants insist that the Surveyor-General cannot legally survey or mark the disputed land without their permission or the involvement of surveyors chosen by the community. They want the court to declare that the government cannot take the land without following the procedures in the Land Use Act, 1978.

Previous Court Ruling

The claimants informed the court that a state high court in Cross River already addressed the proposed buffer zone about thirty years ago.

According to the suit, the government’s new decision ignores “the subsisting judgment of Cross River High Court… 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 latest attempt to create the buffer zone is prevented by the doctrine of estoppel per rem judicatam under Section 173 of the Evidence Act, 2011. This doctrine stops a party from bringing up a claim that a court has already decided.

Among the requests made in the suit are orders to stop the government from moving forward with the buffer zone, a direction that any boundary marking should follow the “1935 Yako Studies by Professor Daryll Forde,” and ₦500 million in damages.

The Ugep community has also called on all involved parties to respect the law, promote justice, and avoid actions that could violate their claimed ancestral land rights.

As of this report, the Cross River State Government and other defendants have not publicly responded to the claims in the suit. The Cross River State Commissioner for Information, Erasmus Ekpang, did not answer calls or text messages seeking his comments.

When asked about the Ugep community's claim that an agreement signed at the police headquarters in Cross River by one of their leaders and the Paramount Ruler of Yakurr LGA, Ofem Eteng, was signed under pressure, the police spokesman, Eitokpah Sunday, said the police were not involved in land allocation but only “provided security alongside the military.”