By INIOBONG SUNDAY , Uyo

Residents of the coastal oil bearing communities of Ibeno local government area of Akwa Ibom State have raised alarm  over the resurgence of armed conflict, disclosing that plans were in the offing for the Ekid neighbours to lay siege to the local LGA.

 The fresh concerns over what they described as “another round of invasion of their communities by alleged land – grabbers allegedly from Eket and Esit Eket  LGAs, appealed to Governor Umo Eno and the federal government to Intervened in order to avert full blown war 

Speaking to Journalists at Upenkang, community in Ibeno LGA on Saturday, the Secretary of Ibeno Clan Council, Chief Udofia Okon Udofia, recalled that these same sponsored hoodlums were responsible for series of attacks orchestrated by the people of Eket and Esit Eket LGAs in Ibeno villages like Iwuoachang, Inua Eyet Ikot and Ndito Eka Iba group of villages leading to death and destruction of homes, fishing gears and other valuables.

He noted, the attempt to remap some LGAs  by l that he former Governor Udom Emmanuel, by ceding some oil bearing villages into his local government in Onna, and others in the State in order to benefit from the Host Community Development Trust Fund ,HCDTF, was one of the remote causes of the crisis against Ibeno LGA, while Ekid People’s Union, EPU, headed by Dr Samuel Udonsak, was the platform deployed to incite and coordinate attacks against Ibeno.

He noted that: “Just recently, the President of Ekid People’s Union, Dr. Samuel Udonsak, at the quarterly general meeting of the union held on 11th April 2025 reported that the Esit Urua people in Eket LGA, now have unfettered access to Ibeno palm plantations”. 

While commending the Governor,  Pastor Umo Eno, the commissioner of Police ,CP,  in the State, and His Highness, Dr Ferdinand Ikwang, for working collaboratively towards  bringing the impasse to an end, he prayed God for intervening to ensure peace in the troubled areas.

He said: “We are calling on the State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, to call the people of Eket and Esit Eket to order; and also urge the security agencies to arrest and prosecute anybody inciting or sponsoring violence in the area.

“We will not have peace if the government could not tell the people of Esit Urua in Eket to stay away from the Palm Plantation and abide by the 1981 judgment that was in favour of Ibeno. 

“The land dispute case in which Eket sued Ibeno was decided in favour of Ibeno in 1981. They later appealed the judgment at Appeal Court in Calabar. Instead of them following up on the case, Eket decided to cut corners by hiding under their ally, the former governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel and cited the case of 1918, which can never help them.

“They now resort to remapping so that they can take our land, and we have promised whoever is involved that we will never allow one inch of our land to be ceded to Eket.

“We see the former Governor Udom Emmanuel as the progenitor or instigator of this problem between us and Eket, Esit Eket, Onna, Mkpat Enin and Ikot Abasi LGAs”.

He lamented that, their anger stemmed from the fact that, the State government has been paying lip services to their plights, and leaving the people in anguish, recalling that”, Governor Umo Eno, after the February 26, 2024 attack on Iwoachang village in Ibeno LGA, had directed that the waring parties should stay away from the disputed area and promised to compensate and support the victims of the attack, but more than one year now, the governor has not fulfill his promises”.

“Up till now, the government has not done anything even with the crisis of that magnitude. Neither was there any relief from Akwa State Emergency Management Agency ,AKSEMA, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, nor National Emergency Management Agency ,NEMA.

“May be, the Governor is not paying attention to our concerns because it is not politically convenient, or because he has his businesses in Eket, and would not want to incur the wrath of Ekid people, but whatever forms his wealth today comes from Ibeno!

“Apart from that, the Governor has a second term ambition and with the crisis between Eket and Ibeno, he feels Ekid people would be a threat to his second term ambition, and as such, he sits on the fence without coming out firmly on the matter. The governor should fulfil the promise he made to the victims of the attack and Ibeno people in general by compensating the victims and making sure that justice prevails on this matter.

“The Governor should tell Eket or Esit Eket people to remain where they were because, by the creation of Ibeno Local Government Area as shown in the map of Akwa Ibom, all those areas belong to Ibeno.

“We will not have peace if the State Government cannot tell Eket people to stay away from our lands, recall  the Ndito Eka Iba mayhem last December 2024, where a resident was beheaded and several children missing by hoodlums from Eket and Esit Eket”.

Chief Udofia, however, countered the CP Azare,  arguing that the issue of missing children at Ndito Eka Iba community, was not true, and queried what was the role of the Police, when the crisis was reported to them.

He accused the security agencies of compromise in the crisis “by allowing our neighbours to attack us continuously without doing anything, whether to prevent such attacks or in the aftermath of the attacks”.

Chief Udofia, therefore, called on the Governor to “among other things, acknowledge the different ethnic groups in the State; and act as a matter of urgent public importance to give Ibeno a sense of belonging, as the Goose that lays the golden eggs, and contributes massively to the State and national developments.