Two beheaded as communal clash resurfaces in Cross River communities

Two people were reportedly beheaded over the weekend following renewed hostilities between youths of Ochon in Obubra Local Government Area and those of Ofutop in Ikom Local Government Area of central Cross River State.

The latest violence, which erupted on farmland, reportedly led to the shooting and killing of two Ochon youths before their assailants severed their heads with machetes.

A local youth, Donald Enang, told Vanguard that peace had only recently returned after weeks of fighting between both communities that left several people dead and many houses destroyed. He said it was believed that the peace agreement reached by community leaders would last, but violence resumed over the weekend with the latest killings.

“Fighting has moved from the towns and along the Ikom–Calabar highway to the farms and forests. A lot of cocoa plantations have been destroyed and plundered, while other crops like rice, cassava, and yams have been set on fire,” Enang said.

He lamented that the renewed violence had made it unsafe for residents to visit their farms, appealing to the authorities to step in before the situation worsens.

“The army is stationed along the highway, but the youths are now committing a lot of destruction in the farms. People are scared to go to their farms because anyone who ventures there is shot dead,” he added.

The Ochon community and their neighbours in Alesi and Ofutop have a long history of violent clashes, which have claimed many lives, including those of unsuspecting travellers along the Ikom–Calabar highway.

Although community leaders had brokered a temporary peace last month, the fragile truce has now collapsed following the latest killings.