Dispute: Adamawa community calls for urgent Intervention
Dispute: Adamawa community calls for urgent Intervention
The Maya Youth Progressive Association (MAYOPA) has called on the Adamawa Government to urgently intervene in the lingering land dispute between Maya and Bille communities in Demsa Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Gagdiwana Joel, Chairman of the Association, made the appeal on Monday at a news conference in Yola.
He alleged that ouths froma Bille community recently invaded several Maya villages, harassed residents, and attempted to redraw boundaries without government authorisation.
He listed some of the villages to include; Kwaba, Guri/Wurobokki, Kwaba Waka, Tashan Gurgu and Dingle Kasa and communities in Dong district among others.
Joel said the situation, could escalate into violence, stressing that security agencies have failed to act on reported cases of intimidation and threats to peace.
“We wish to inform our security agencies that by neglecting to make arrests and bring to book those threatening our peaceful coexistence, means it can no longer guarantee our security.
“If known individuals were allowed to organise themselves, heavily armed to invade our communities, harass and intimidate residents, perform rituals and establish boundaries.
“A function which only government organs are lawfully mandated to perform,” he said.
According to him, the dispute dates back to the creation of districts in the early 1990s, with both communities laying claim to some of the affected villages.
He urged the state government, the state House of Assembly and traditional institutions to expedite action on clarifying the boundaries to prevent further crises.
Joel said that the Maya people have been patient for over three decades, seeking peaceful resolution through legal and legislative means.
“Having made our positions known to the House of Assembly through our various memoranda and repeated reminders to the House of Assembly, Batta Traditional Council and security organs.
“The over 30 years of patience awaiting the amicable resolution through legislative process, this people (names witheld) had repeatedly harassed, intimidated and constituted nuisance within our areas,” he said.
Joel called for the immediate arrest of those behind the recent invasion and for government to ensure due process in resolving the boundary dispute.
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“The entire Maya nation will not concede an inch of our land to desperate expansionists looking for more villages to expand their geopolitical landscape and political indices.
“While we assure you of defending our territorial boundaries with the last drop of our blood, henceforth, We have resolved to match violence for violence should such intimidation repeat itself.
“We call on government, security gencies and all stakeholders to act decisively and impartially to prevent further escalation,” Joel said.
Similarly, the Bille Youths Federation in Demsa Local Government Area of the state has called on the State House of Assembly to ensure full implementation of the Adamawa State Districts Creation (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Law 2024.
Reacting to the allegations leveled against Bille people, Mr Wilfred Jerimond, President of the Federation, made the call at a news conference in Bille.
He said tension had persisted over certain villages under Bille District since its creation in 1992, adding that those villages were yet to be integrated since then, under its administrative control.
Jerimond urged the state legislature to issue an order to address the matter and clarify the status of the affected villages.
