Cross River community rejects land revocation

Okokori Community in Orchon council ward, Cross River State has appealed to the government to rescind its decision to conscript some of its land for the controversial development of the 260 kilometre super highway.

Speaking through the village Head, Chief James Oyi and Community Secretary, Mr. Brendan Iferi, they said “the 20.4km width of the revoked lands includes our farms, community forest and our settlement. Our customary use of our lands for centuries where our ancestors have been buried is about to be desecrated.

“The rich biodiversity of our community forest contiguous with the Ekuri community forest and the Cross River State national Park contributes to the forests in Cross River state being named one of the 25 biological hotspots in the world will be lost forever and this legacy about to be buried.

“The acclaimed recognition of the state as harbouring 50 per cent of the remaining forests in Nigeria will crash awfully. The REDD+ programme in the state is already a failure as all the forests in Ekuri/Iko pilot site will be lost because of the super highway. We will be forced to face eviction, food insecurity, poverty, lost our culture and sustainable well being”.

The Okokori people further resolved; “we do not support your (state governor) plan to evict us from our ancestral lands, we have occupied since 1848. We are not settlers in government land but on our communal land that we have exercised customary rights for years.-The Authority