CROSS RIVER URGES BORDER COMMUNITIES TO EMBRACE PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE

The Cross River Government on Saturday told border communities in the state to live in peace with their neighbors to end communal crises in the state.

The Security Adviser to Gov. Liyel Imoke, Mr Rekpene Bassey, gave the charge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar. Bassey was reacting to renewed communal clashes over farmland between the Ndeagu-Amagu Community in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi and Adadama in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River.
Bassey said that it was important that border communities were encouraged to live together in peace and to resolve their differences through dialogue rather than resorting to violence, killing and maiming of one another.
He advised the warring communities to sheath their swords, be patient and to await appropriate government intervention for an amicable resolution of whatever misunderstanding they had.
``The truth is that the recourse to violence, yes I mean the use of force, will not help, it will only bring us more sorrow, sadness and possibly further escalate the situation.
``The best approach to resolve violent situation is to come together and reason and find out the remote causes and possibly articulate the way forward, instead of getting involved in hostility,’’ he urged.