By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo.
The Ibeno people have reaffirmed their historical, cultural and constitutional ownership of their ancestral lands, rejecting 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 Ibeno Clan Council, Chief Udofia Okon Udofia, described the Ekid submission before the Akwa Ibom State Land Use Allocation Committee as 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, stressing 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.
“Our identity as a coastal people is not in doubt, Ibeno has never been a tenant community, nor has it existed at the pleasure of any inland group”, he said.
Our culture, economy and history are rooted in the Atlantic coastline, supported by history, anthropology and lived experience.”
Addressing claims over the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, Chief Udofia 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.
“Under customary law, ownership is established by first settlement, continuous occupation and economic use,” he said.
“By every known customary and legal standard, Ibeno land is Ibeno land. Paper claims without possession or history cannot displace people who have lived, worked and buried their ancestors on the land for generations.”
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 government and not with 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.”
He said, the Land Use Act vests all land in the Governor of Akwa Ibom State to be held in trust for the people and empowers government to allocate land for overriding public interest, including industrial and energy-related projects capable of driving economic growth and employment.
Chief Udofia 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.”
Reacting to claims suggesting that lands currently occupied by Ibeno people belong to Ekid, Chief Udofia described such statements as unconstitutional and provocative, reminding the public that Ibeno is a constitutionally recognised Local Government Area, whose existence and territorial integrity cannot be nullified by ethnic declarations.
“No petition, no threat and no revision of history can erase Ibeno from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Our boundaries, our communities and our rights are protected by law.”
He called for respect for the rule of law, urging Ekid to show course by accepting to strain the proposed peace committee of the state government with valid documents for claims, or pursue its grievances genuinely through the courts, rather than through inflammatory rhetoric capable of threatening public peace.
“The future of Akwa Ibom State lies in unity, lawful development and mutual respect.
“History should enlighten us, not be weaponised Ibeno remains committed to peace, progress and coexistence under the law”, he concluded.
