CALABAR – The Cross River State Surveyor-General, Surveyor Patrick Bassey, has commenced steps to recover portions of land belonging to the University of Cross River State allegedly encroached upon by private developers.
The move followed a joint boundary assessment and fact-finding inspection of the university’s Calabar campus conducted on Tuesday by the Surveyor-General and the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Francisca Bassey.
The inspection came a day after a strategic meeting between the university management and the Office of the Surveyor-General aimed at strengthening collaboration on land administration and protecting government-owned educational property.
Accompanied by members of the university management, technical survey personnel and campus security officials, the delegation toured the institution’s boundary lines to identify areas affected by encroachment and commence the process of restoring the university’s legal boundaries.
During the exercise, the team identified several unauthorised structures, including private building projects, perimeter wall extensions, temporary wooden structures and roadside commercial developments, which it said were situated within or along the university’s land.
Speaking during the inspection, the Vice-Chancellor expressed concern over the continued encroachment on the institution’s property, describing the affected areas as part of the university’s designated expansion zones.
She noted that the Cross River State Government had duly compensated the original landowners during the acquisition process, adding that any subsequent occupation or development on the land was unlawful.
The Surveyor-General assured the university management that his office would carry out a comprehensive technical verification of the disputed boundaries by comparing field observations with official survey master plans, cadastral maps and state land records.
He said the exercise would enable the government to accurately determine and restore the university’s legal boundaries.
Bassey added that technical survey teams would subsequently undertake detailed cadastral surveys of the affected areas and install appropriate boundary beacons where necessary to safeguard the institution’s property against further encroachment.
