The people of the Yala community are in a bloodbath with a neighbouring community in Benue State. The incident occurred at about 1600 hours on 26/6/2026. The incident erupted when one Ekpo Akobi, aged 35yrs and his friend, whose name is undisclosed, went to buy goats and dogs for sale in a nearby community in Benue state
They were accosted by a group of people from the Tiv tribe, where the victims met their untimely demise. One of the victims’ heads was cut off, and the other victim was killed, with the others escaping, where they went to the General Hospital, Okpma, for treatment
The security men were drafted to the area to foster peace, but to no avail. There has been a long-time dispute over a boundary between the two communities. Based on the information gathered, a piece of land was given to someone who happened to be a native of the Tiv community in Benue State by the Alofokpa people of Yala LGA, Cross River State, who had been accorded hospitality, and they found themselves in a catastrophe.
The lingering issues erupted as the real owners, the Yache people, demanded their homage from the Tiv community, which had been given to them centuries ago, but today is a different matter because of the increase in population; children had grown up with no land for farming, and this had erupted into an ugly situation. The security men, drafted but not well-equipped, were overpowered by the sound gun by the two communities of Benue and Cross River States by the time this story was filed; no actual figures were mentioned. The crisis is ongoing both sides are inside the bush,
It needs the intervention of both the Government and the state to form a committee for boundary adjustments and to create space for peace to be restored
