Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has urged Erin-Ile and Offa people to remain calm, following the Supreme Court judgment over their protracted boundary dispute.
Ahmed made the appeal in Ilorin Wednesday through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede as the two communities have had long-drawn boundary dispute, leading to occasional violent clashes between them.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the nation’s apex court on December 14, 2018, re-affirmed its decision of December 10, 1973 that the disputed land at the boundary between the two communities belongs to Erin-Ile.
The judgment would lead to the forfeiture of the land on which the ultra-modern Offa Descendants Union Secretariat, Avalon Hotels and some Federal Government’s institutions, including the Federal Polytechnic, Offa and PHCN substation, among other structures, were sited.
The governor further urged the communities to refrain from publishing or circulating unauthorised interpretations of the latest judgment.
He assured that the state government would employ dialogue as a means of finding an amicable and sustainable solution to the dispute.
Ahmed also promised that the government would continue to take measures that would guarantee the welfare and security of lives and property of the entire citizenry.
He said that consultations were ongoing between the government and some prominent leaders of the two communities on how best to resolve the issue beyond the court judgment.
The governor, therefore, urged the people not to panic but go about their lawful activities without any fear of molestation.
He described Erin-Ile and Offa as peace loving, age-long neighbours, who shared a commitment toward developing their areas in an atmosphere of mutual trust and peaceful co-existence.
He pledged his administration resolve to leave no stone unturned in its efforts to ensure that peace and harmony prevail in the area.
