The Chairman of the Ofutop Traditional Rulers Council in Ikom Local Council, Atun Bassey Okey, has raised the alarm over the gruesome killing of two villagers who were reportedly beheaded during renewed clashes in the area.

The hostilities, which erupted a week ago, involve four Ikom communities: Ekukunela, Alesi, Agbragba and Okosoro pitted against their border neighbours in Obubra Local Council, including Ochon, Odung and Okom.

The conflict, rooted in boundary disputes and alleged encroachments, first broke out in 2016, resurfaced in 2022, and has now flared up again in 2025. Okey disclosed that at least five lives have been lost since the crisis resumed, with two victims beheaded in what he described as barbaric killings.

He further alleged that most of the attacks took place in the bushes, where rival groups lay ambush.

Responding on behalf of the Mbembe people in Obubra, a community leader, Mbe Peter, accused the Ofutop of being settlers making false claims to ancestral lands.

“We have been under attack by Ofutop people. We call on government and security agencies to protect us from these aggressors,” he said.

In an earlier effort to broker peace, the Deputy Governor of Cross River, Peter Odey, convened a meeting of leaders of the warring communities. He directed both sides to engage independent surveyors to demarcate the disputed boundaries after the initial survey report was rejected.

Okey insisted that the earlier findings were unfair to his people and called for urgent intervention to restore peace and protect lives.

Efforts to obtain reactions from the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Igri Ewa, and the State Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Obono Ubi (rtd), were unsuccessful.