The Cross River State Command of the Nigerian Police has inspected an alleged crime scene in Esuk Ekom, Odukpani Local Government Area, following petitions by the Eyo Ekpo Royal Family over unauthorized sand extraction activities linked to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway Project NEGROIDHAVEN can report.
On January 13, officers of the Command, accompanied by members of the Eyo Ekpo Royal Family, visited contested lands in Ubambat Okoyong, Usung Esuk Ekom and Esuk Ekom I communities down to the Esuk Ekom Beach, where heavy equipment had reportedly been deployed.
During the inspection, community members alleged that Hi-Tech Construction Company, the firm handling the coastal highway project, opened a new access road outside the approved 100-metre corridor to extract sand without the consent of the landowners.
“Hi-Tech Construction Company created an access road to harvest sand outside the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway corridor,” said Christ Ambassador Effiong Ekpo Ekpo, Chairman of the Eyo Ekpo Royal Family Lands Committee.
The family further claimed that economic trees and cultivated farmlands were destroyed, while their ancestral shrine was demolished without due process or compensation. They argued that the development not only violated their land rights but also threatened their indigenous religious practices.
Police officers on site confirmed the presence of caterpillars operating far from the designated highway corridor. The inspection was prompted by a petition submitted earlier this year to security agencies, including the State Security Service (SSS), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the State Security Adviser.
Offiong Eyo Okon, Acting Secretary of the Eyo Ekpo Family Lands Committee, accused indigenous political collaborators of misinforming the public about the activities, insisting that the issue was not sand harvesting within the corridor but unauthorized road construction leading to the sand source with suspected intention to fetch sand.
Meanwhile, the Community Liaison Officer (CLO) of Hi-Tech Construction Company, Asuquo Ukpayang Otu, has allegedly denied knowing anything about the controversial access road, he told the Eyo Ekpo family “may be it was the Cross River State Government that did the road,” during a last week interview with the police. “An investigation is still ongoing to find out who did the new road to access our river sand at Esuk Ekom,” the source disclosed.
The dispute has heightened tension in Esuk Ekom, one of the thirteen villages in Okoyong Community affected by the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway Project. Community members expressed concern that exclusion from compensation lists and destruction of ancestral lands could fuel unrest if not addressed.
As of press time, Hi-Tech Construction Company and relevant government authorities have yet to issue an official response to the allegations.
