Coaster Highway: payment of Compensation sparks uproar in C’River Community 

From Ene Asuquo, Calabar 

Group under the aegis of Association of concerned Indigenes of Okoyong community in Odukpani local Government Area of Cross River state have petitioned  the payment of Compensation to certain people whom they described as stranger elements. Maintaining that these people were inserted into the compensation register.

Consequently, they have petitioned security agencies in the state to intervene in order to check the bitter feud before it escalates.

The petition was contained in a press statement dated 5th of January 2026 and signed by Effiong Ekpo Ekpo, President, Association of concerned Indigenes of Okoyong Community 

 The letter reads; “I, the undersigned, on behalf of the Association of Concerned Indigenes of Okoyong Community, write this petition to draw your urgent attention to a grave and escalating situation in the Okoyong axis of Odukpani Local Government Area, Cross River State, arising from the implementation of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Project”.

The project according to the petitioners affects thirteen (13) Okoyong villages in cross river 

” The letter further stated, “I seek your immediate intervention to forestall a potential breakdown of law and order, as current developments pose serious threats to peace, security, and the rights of indigenous landowners”.

The Petitioners say the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Project, executed by Hi-Tech Construction Company under federal oversight, has resulted in the acquisition of farmlands, economic trees, and ancestral lands belonging to indigenous families in Okoyong Community. 

They maintained that hundreds of legitimate indigenous landowners, whose families have occupied the lands for generations, have been removed from the compensation register and replaced with non-indigenous individuals with no ancestral ties to Okoyong land, stressing that Some of these individuals are political appointees and associates allegedly aided by compromised traditional and political structures.

The Construction Company has opened a new access road outside the approved 100-metre corridor to extract sand from the Esuk Ekom village river without the consent of the Eyo Ekpo Family who are the rightful landowners.

They accused “traditional rulers and political appointees to have allegedly facilitated these irregularities, exploiting the vulnerabilities of rural farmers while asserting that “the land belongs to the state,” contrary to established land ownership norms”, they maintained.

“The continued marginalization of rightful landowners has created deep frustration and tension within the community. If not urgently addressed, this situation risks degenerating into serious conflict”. 

“The community seeks justice, not confrontation, but the current trajectory poses a clear threat to peace and security”. the letter stated.