Akwa Ibom Govt To take over Disputed Stubb Creeks Due to Renewed Skirmishes Between Esit Eket And Ibeno Over The Oil Rich Land
By Emmanuel Uffot
The Akwa Ibom State Government has mooted the Taking over of the Stubb Creeks Forest Reserve which has been a subject of dispute between Esit Eket/Eket and Ibeno Local Government Areas.
Governor Umo Eno stated this when he visited the crises area and hospitals after the renewed clash between the said communities over the disputed oil rich area, left scores of houses and properties from both communities destroyed and many injured.
The outbreak of renewed hostilities between Eket ethnic stock and their Ibeno neighbours in Akwa Ibom state, broke out in the early hours of last Monday and ran through Tuesday when persons suspected to be from Esit Eket, mounted a blockade, cutting off Ibeno residents from accessing the only highway linking the oil-rich coastal community.
The early morning crisis led to heavy losses in both businesses and properties.
Several residential houses and business places were set ablaze by the rampaging irate members of the Eket community who stormed the Ibeno sections carrying out large scale vandalizion, this robbing the unsuspecting Ibeno community of the hitherto prevailing peace.
The crises however escalated after reprisal attacks by Ibeno due to what they termed ‘ unprovoked attack by their Eket neighbours.
Before the arrival of security personnel to quell the clash, Scores of persons had suffered various degrees of injuries, properties destroyed and few feared dead, though still unconfirmed as at press time.
The State Commissioner of Police CP Waheed Ayilara who had drafted a detachment of Mobile Police Personnel and Men of the Force Tactical Team of the force to on a joint patrol team with the army and regular police personnel to restore normalcy to the area advise both parties to maintain peace as the law will catch up with those that continue to forment trouble.
The police boss was accompanied on the assessment tour of the area by the State Commissioner for Internal Security and Water ways Major General Ikpe (rtd) and the Transaction Chairmen of Eket, Esit Eket and Ibeno Local Government Areas Council.
In the peak of the crises before normalcy was restored our reporter heard over heard gunnshots and those several canisters of tear gas that were fired by security agents to scare the rioters.
Infact, findings revealed that dangerous weapons like machetes and guns were used by the irate members of the warring communities. This confirmed the number of those currently in hospital suffering from bullet wounds.
Investigations by our reporters however, indicates that the fresh outbreak of hostilities is not unconnected with the Stubb’s Creek forest reservation, whose ownership claim is strongly disputed between the Ekets and the Ibenos. The underlying dispute has often in the past escalated into widespread conflict between the once peaceful neighbours.
Both ethnic nationalities have over time known to lay strong claims of ownership to this vast swath of oil rich land.
Advocacy leaders from both sections have called for urgent federal government intervention to bring lasting peace to the troubled area, by putting machinery in place to stem a reoccurrence.
Meanwhile, both communities are advised to allow a reign of peace across the affected areas.
But while Ibeno people are accusing the Esit Eket people of usurpation and insurrection on the disputed area, the Esit Eket agitators are clamouring for the return of their ancestral lands allegedly taken by their Ibeno neighbours.
The State Government had issued a Press Release earlier on the matter. The State Commissioner of Information and Strategy Ini Ememobong in the release on behalf of the state government, had urged for peace to reign among the contending communities. It said the initiative was “to avoid loss of lives and further damage to properties”.
Part of the release read: “while government recognises that this conflict is rooted in heritage claims, it is constraint by the subsisting court actions on the same subject matter.”
” It is the position of the state Government that until all cases are resolved, nothing will be done in support of against the map”, the release added.
However, the Akwa Ibom state government in the release has called on ” traditional and political leaders among both communities to act as enablers of peace and not catalysts of conflict”.
Government however reiterate commitment to save guard human lives and properties, stressing that all perpetrators of violence will be arrested and brought to book if they fail to allow peace reign.
Findings reveals that, even as normalcy has returned to the area because of heavy presence of security personnel, there is still palpable restiffness among the youths of both communities even as stakeholders have commended the State Governor for the desicion to take over the disputed oil rich area.
For them, only this will bring a lasting peace to the area.
