A dispute over the ownership of a huge forest reserves close to the Atlantic Ocean in Akwa Ibom State is threatening the multibillion-naira Lagos-Calabar coastal highway in the section that passes across Stubbs Creek.
The forest reserves is a disputed land claimed by the people of Eket, Esit Eket and Ibeno Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State that has dragged on for decades.
The dispute which dates back to 1918 according to records the state government is also at the root of the bad blood between the two local government areas and Ibeno local government area which houses the operational base of Seplat Energy, the new owner of Mobil Producing Nigeria and has affected the proposed multimillion-naira BUA oil refinery which was to be sited in the area.
Now, the conflict appears to have boiled over as it threatens the proposed coastal highway from Lagos state to Cross River State which is expected to pass through the area.
An indication of the deepening faceoff between the state government and the communities emerged during the inauguration of a primary health facility at Nduo Eduo in Eket local government when Governor Umo Eno vowed that nobody would stop the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway from passing through the Stubb Creeks forest reserve.
“Make no mistake, nobody will stop the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway from passing through the Stubb’s Creek forest reserve. It is a government reserve area and when the government decides to act in the interest of the people, it will act,” he said.
The remark by the governor was followed by an immediate response by the community under the auspices of Ekid Peoples Union whose Board of Trustees Chairman, Ndueso Essien a former member of the National Assembly and later a minister made the position of the community known in a statement he personally describing the governor’s statement as unacceptable.
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Essien said: “The remarks made during that event against the Ekid people and the leadership of the Ekid People’s Union were deeply hurtful and troubling. We have resisted the temptation to respond with anger or recrimination.
“Instead, we have reflected deeply and chosen to believe that the governor’s outburst may have been caused by the pressures of office, the exigencies of governance, and the heavy burden that leadership places on those who carry it.
“Regrettably, since that day, some political supporters and praise-singers have gone further to expatiate on those remarks and embellishing them and adding more salt to an already open wound.
“What may have been a momentary lapse has been weaponised into a sustained narrative that portrays Ekid people as enemies of progress.
“As the Board of Trustees of the Ekid People’s Union, we owe a solemn duty to intervene at this point. That duty is owed not only to Ekid people but also to the peace, stability, and future of Akwa Ibom State.
“We must clear the misconceptions that have been generated, restate the genuine concerns of Ekid people with clarity and restraint, and create room for an amicable, lawful, and dignified resolution of the issues surrounding the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.”
The declaration of Ekid people as “terrorists” under the guise that they are resisting the routing of a proposed coastal or super highway through the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve did not entirely surprise us.
“Sadly, such language has become a recurring feature whenever Ekid people raise questions about the Stubbs Creek. Yet, each time it happens, it deepens mistrust and hardens positions.
“It is painful that a people who have consistently acted within the bounds of the law are now being criminalised for asserting their rights,” statement added.
Similarly, in a swift response, describing ownership by the community as false and misleading, Uko Essien Udom, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, clarified that the historic case of Ntiaro and Ikpak v. Ibok Etok Akpan and Edoho Ekid, decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1918, “did not vest ownership of Stubbs Creek land in any ethnic group or community. Rather, the final judgment merely dismissed the claims before the court and granted title to no party.”
According to the Attorney-General, “any contrary interpretation being circulated in the public space amounts to a distortion of the judicial record and is misleading.”
He explained that the Stubbs Creek land was subsequently lawfully constituted as a forest reserve by the Colonial Government of Nigeria under Forest Reserve Order No. 45 of 1930, with amendments in 1941, 1955 and 1962.
“Upon its reservation, principal rights over the land were forfeited to the government, which has since administered the area in accordance with applicable laws.”
Reaffirming its constitutional mandate, the state government noted that by virtue of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Land Use Act, all land within Akwa Ibom State is vested in the Governor to be held in trust for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians.
“Consequently, claims of absolute or exclusive ownership founded solely on ancestral or customary assertions are subject to existing law.”
“In furtherance of national development objectives, the Akwa Ibom State Government assured the Federal Government of its full cooperation, including the grant of unhindered access and Right of Way for the construction of the Coastal Highway through any part of the state.”
According to the governor, community leaders have been invited to a roundtable meeting over the dispute but there has been no response.
Observers believe if the ownership tussle is not resolved, it could put the construction of the coastal highway in a precarious situation just like the proposed BUA refinery has been affected by the crisis.
