One person has been reportedly killed as three persons sustained various degrees of injuries while one person is missing in the festering boundary dispute between Ariam, Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State and their Ikot Okum neighbours in Obot Akara Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
The festering boundary dispute involves six villages in Akwa Ibom State fighting with the people of Ariam in Abia State over a parcel of land that demarcates them.
The six villages in Akwa Ibom include Abama, Ikot Okum, Esa Ikwen, Nto Ndang, Utu Ikot Inyang and Utu Otong respectively.
It was gathered that the boundary dispute has persisted for decades but the recent fracas started when a man from Abama went to his farm to harvest cassava last December and was accosted by heavily armed men from Ariam who beat him up and inflicted deep machete cuts on him before he managed to escape.
An eyewitness from the Abama community, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the six communities subsequently regrouped and carried out a reprisal attack on Ariam, killing one person from Ariam in the process.
“The funny thing is that Ariam fighters killed our brother and escaped with the corpse but we didn’t carry their own corpse.
“They have to return the corpse of our brother for burial or we will fight them. This fight has persisted for many years,” the people of Abam said.
He accused the people of Ariam of destroying the stream which was supposed to serve as a natural boundary between the warring communities .
“On this disputed land there is a stream which is supposed to serve as the natural boundary between us and the Ikwanu in Abia State.
“But the people of Ariam always filled the stream with sand just to destroy the natural boundary and trespass .
“Unfortunately, this stream refused to dry up because you can’t destroy natural features . Government should step in and address this problem,” he stressed/
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer ( PPRO) for Akwa Ibom DSP Timfon John said one person from Ariam in Ikwuano Local Government Area in Abia State has lost his life while three persons from Okum community in Akwa Ibom were seriously injured.
“Yes, it is a boundary clash between Ikwuano Local Government Area and Obot Akara Council Area in Akwa Ibom State.
“One person from Ikot Okum is missing now . Investigation is ongoing to arrest perpetrators,” he disclosed.
