Niger Delta Minister Condemns Communal Crises in Cross River

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

The Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani has decried the raging communal wars among communities in Cross River State, saying he was ashamed of the level of violence, barbarism and criminality being committed under the guise of war.

He made the call against the backdrop of communal conflicts that had engulfed parts of the state in the last four months, the latest being the on-going war between his immediate community, Nko, versus Mkpani, Inyima versus Oyadama, and Nkum versus Mgbegede communities, all in the central part of the state.

The communal wars have resulted in loss of many lives and destruction of property valued at billions of naira.

Condemning the communal crisis, especially the one concerning his community Nko and Mkpani where a member of the Board of Trustee (BoT) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Clement Ebri, hails from, Usani said the violence being perpetrated by some persons had nothing to do with politics, but were pure acts of criminality.

“I am irremeably ashamed of these developments at my locality at a time when we are expected to show optimum understanding and common working relations; I hereby decry insinuations of political underpinnings to those irresponsible acts because ascribing political notions to acts of barbarism is an attempt to down play criminality which ought to be dealt with decisively,” Usani told the media in an interview on Thursday.

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