Sunday September 28, 2025
TheNewsDESK |
By Dennis UDOMA
In a scathing rebuttal to what it described as a “diatribe of lies and distortions” by Eket people over ownership of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, Ibeno Stakeholders again dare Eket leaders to produce verifiable documentations to support their claims or admit to centuries of propaganda and deception.
Speaking through its Spokesperson, Chief Udofia Okon Udofia at Ukpenekang on Sunday, the Ibeno Clan Council of Chiefs lambasted Eket’s latest media tirade as “desperate and deceitful,” challenging them to publicly bring forward land cessation documents to show that Ibeno was ever ‘settled’ or ‘granted’ land by Eket.
“We made the challenge in our last statement, produce the documents. They ignored it again. Instead, they chose media drama over substance,” Udofia stated.
According to Ibeno stakeholders, Eket faction has repeatedly failed to present evidence before the public and the proposed Peace Committee to be set up by Governor Umo Eno to resolve the lingering crisis.
“They claim ownership of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, yet when invited by the government’s own peace committee, they would retreat and showing high handedness,” said Udofia adding that, “Eket people have become experts in historical fiction and drama.”
He further stated that the ownership of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve is currently sub judice under active litigation and accused Eket leaders of committing contempt of court by repeatedly discussing and campaigning on the matter in the media.
The Ibeno group also condemned what they described as “voodoo politics” by a daughter of Eket, whom they accuse of “roaming the forests and pouring libation against the Governor and traditional rulers, when a woman supposed not to do so going by the tradition”
The act, according to them, has not only disrespected constituted authorities but prompted the Akwa Ibom State Traditional Rulers Council to summon her for public explanation and disdain for tradition, a summon she allegedly refused to honour.
“This is not just an affront to the government, but to the very soul of our state’s traditions. Eket cannot cry foul when they are the ones spitting on tradition and in the face of peace. Ibeno stakeholders stated.
The group, however, posed some weighty questions, “What does Eket people really want; peace or war?”
Instead, much of what is being heard from Eket people has come through media interviews, traditional or emotional rhetorics (woman pouring libation), and alleged historical narratives passed orally but unbacked by legal documentation.
“To be taken seriously in a land or resource dispute of this scale, Eket would need to present; historical land grants, surveys, or treaties (e.g., colonial-era maps or boundary definitions), Court judgments or government gazettes assigning ownership, land ownership titles, lease agreements, or formal community resolutions and evidence of continuous occupation or traditional jurisdiction over the Stubbs Creek area.
“The anger of avoiding due process
by avoiding court procedures, committee invitations, and traditional council summons, Eket runs the risk of being seen not as rightful stakeholders, but as aggressors trying to win in public opinion what they cannot prove in fact.
“If Eket truly has valid documentation, this is the time to bring it forward, not through drama or media war, but through institutions.
“Until then, their struggle for Stubbs Creek will look more like a claim of entitlement than a legitimate pursuit of justice.
“This is no longer just a land issue. It is a matter of honour, truth, and justice.
“Eket must decide whether they want to be part of the solution or continue as the problem”, vowing to further expose “Eket’s calculated campaign of misinformation” and to lay bare more documents, testimonies, and historical references that “will bury Eket’s false narrative permanently.
“We therefore, call on Akwa Ibom State Government and all Nigerians to ignore these recycled falsehoods, as ownership of land cannot be fabricated through propaganda.
“Ibeno remains the indigenous owner of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, backed by history, tradition, and natural settlement. No amount of twisting or propaganda can change this fact.
“In conclusion, while Eket (Ekid) continues to hide under colonial misinterpretations and manufactured stories, Ibeno stands on ancestral truth and living history. Stubbs Creek is Ibeno land, yesterday, today, and forever”.
