The Ibeno people have reaffirmed their historical, cultural, and constitutional ownership of their ancestral lands, describing recent claims by the Ekid People’s Union (EPU) as “legally baseless, historically misleading, and capable of undermining public peace.”
Speaking on behalf of the Ibeno Clan Council and other stakeholders, the Secretary of the Council, Chief Udofia Okon Udofia, said the Ekid submission before the Akwa Ibom State Land Use Allocation Committee was a deliberate attempt to intimidate government, investors, and neighbouring communities through distorted colonial history and reckless legal assertions.
Chief Udofia stated that Ibeno is an ancient coastal people whose settlements predate colonial administration by centuries. He stressed that communities such as Upenekang, Mkpanak, Atabrikang, and Okoroutip were firmly established through fishing, salt-making, and maritime trade long before the emergence of modern boundaries.
Addressing claims over the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, he explained that geography alone exposes the weakness of such assertions, noting that Stubbs Creek naturally flows through Ibeno territory into the Atlantic Ocean and has historically served as fishing grounds and economic lifelines for Ibeno communities.
He further clarified that the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve is a legally gazetted government reserve, stressing that once land is reserved under valid law, its control and management rest with the government—not ethnic unions or private associations.
According to him, “There is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public by invoking colonial-era judgments as a claim of eternal ownership.
“No court judgment confers perpetual ethnic control over land that has been validly reserved and is now governed by modern statutes, including the Land Use Act.”
Chief Udofia noted that the Land Use Act vests all land in the Governor of Akwa Ibom State to be held in trust for the people and empowers the government to allocate land for overriding public interest, including industrial and energy-related projects capable of driving economic growth and employment.
He described allegations branding the BUA Refinery project as “criminal encroachment” as irresponsible and dangerous, insisting that the company is operating on approvals and allocations granted by the duly constituted government.
“Any dispute over land is a civil matter, not a criminal one. Threats of resistance, demolition, or eternal opposition only undermine peace, investor confidence, and the development of Akwa Ibom State,” he said.
Reacting to claims suggesting that lands currently occupied by Ibeno people belong to Ekid, Chief Udofia described such statements as unconstitutional and provocative. He reminded the public that Ibeno is a constitutionally recognised Local Government Area whose existence and territorial integrity cannot be nullified by ethnic declarations.
He called for respect for the rule of law, urging the Ekid people to exercise restraint by presenting valid documents before the proposed state government peace committee or to pursue their grievances genuinely through the courts, rather than resorting to inflammatory rhetoric capable of threatening public peace.
