The Erei clan comprises seventeen communities divided into two geographically by a river, with ten on the one side and the other seven on the other side. So, land grabbing and undermining of the Erei nation by Ekoli Edda of Ebonyi state is one of the causes of the crisis.
The communal crisis reportedly revolves around greed for an Oil Palm Plantation originally belonging to the Egbor community and was evenly benefited by all the surrounding communities in the Erei clan.
Urugbam one of the 17 Erei communities is alleged to have joined forces with the Afono community, and Ekoli community in Afikpo South LGA of Ebonyi State to attack the Erei Clan.
It is stated that the Urugbam and Abanwan people are the primary actors in the crisis on whose part are the challenges of poor leadership, conflict preneurship (shadow key players/ beneficiaries in the crisis) and power tussles which has made it possible for the youths to disrespect the elders/leaders of Erei.
Particularly, it has been stated that the crisis which is more of inter than intra crisis between Cross River and Ebonyi states is sponsored by Eni Uduma Chima of Ekoli Edda the former Chairman of Afikpo South LGA of Ebonyi State in collaboration with Frank Owali (Frank Joe), Uka Mba Uka of Ugwuelu Edda and their own brothers, the Urugbam people (Okpo Ukam alias Okpo Aminga, Igbor Ukam, Ibe Popular and others) to destroy the Erei clan.
The current communal crisis experienced in Erei is the 2018 native battles involving Egbor, Ipene, Abanwan and Urugbam; the 2019 battle of Ipene, Egbor, Umolor and Urugbam; and the 2020 communal war engulfing Egbor, Ibini, Afono, Edu and Urugbam.
As at today, the Urugbam and Afono communities have been displaced from their ancestral land and are refugees in neighbouring communities. The Urugbam Village Head Onun Ilem Ukam is now a refugee in a camp in Unwana community of Ebonyi State as a result of his community being leveled to the ground. According to him, the Urugbam people had never shot any gun at anybody until when the Abawan people mobilised other communities to chase their people out of their ancestral home and made them refugees in Unwana in Afikpo.
Youth have been identified to play an important role both in contributing to the escalation of the crisis and deescalation of same. 
The Abanwan–Ikun Ring Road which was under construction by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has been abandoned because of the crisis. The Erei clan is asking government to return to site. The said road is a one route access point to other communities in Erei Clan crosses through Urugbam community.
Erei people who are disposed to peace have accepted Urugbam to return to their ancestral home but, only on the condition of passing through their traditional method of cleansing which is oath taking at the Abanwan Community Hall.
The Urugbam people have been tasked to distance themselves from the Ekoli Edda of the Igbo extraction of Ebonyi since they are not Igbo by ethnicity. They have been asked to be contented with their resources.
It has been stated that compensation was fully paid to the Egbor community in respect of the oil palm plantation by the African Stone Limited for the oil plantation which was leased to the latter in 2018.
Efforts to meet with the incumbent Chair of Biase LGA, Mrs Ada Charles Egwu, by members of the civil society especially Partners for Peace in the Niger Delta, P4P, in the attempts resolve the crisis in her local government has proven abortive as she is reportedly always busy.
