Ekid Women Protest Over Controversial Oil Rich Akoiyak Land in Akwa Ibom

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Hundreds of women from Ekid Nation in Akwa Ibom State yesterday protested over attempt by the state government to seize a controversial Akoiyak land rich in oil and gas products.

The women that protested under the aegis “Akoiyak Ekid Women,” marched along the major streets of Eket denouncing what they described as a calculated assault on their history, land, and dignity.

Clad in black, they wielded placards with inscriptions “Akoiyak Is Ekid Ancestral Land,” “Stop the Plundering of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve,” “Umo Bassey Eno, Stop Insulting Ekid,” and “Privy Council Judgment of 1918 Affirmed Ekid Ownership,” among others.

The protest was reportedly triggered by a press release issued by the Akwa Ibom State Government which claimed that the 1918 Privy Council judgment did not confer ownership of Akoiyak Ekid on Ekid Nation or any party.

To the Ekid people, that statement was not only false but an open provocation, which they insist amounts to a dangerous rewriting of history.

Tensions had already been inflamed following a Caveat Emptor issued by the Ekid People’s Union (EPU), warning the public against the illegal sale of portions of Akoiyak Ekid land by the state government to private investors without consultation with the indigenous owners, Ekid Nation.

Speaking to journalists during the protest, the leader of the women, Obonganwan Eunice Udom, issued a stern demand for accountability.

“The governor must apologize to Ekid people for calling us terrorists. He has lived, worked, and prospered in Eket for over 35 years. Yet today, he insults our husbands and labels our children enemies of the state. We will not accept this,” she declared.

She warned that the protest would continue until the governor publicly retracts his statement and acknowledges the injury done to the Ekid people.

A youth leader, who claimed anonymity said, “Nothing on earth will make Ekid Nation support Umo Eno for a second term.”

Meanwhile, the President General of the Ekid People’s Union (EPU), Dr. Samuel Udonsak, has called for calm, urging restraint amid the rising tension maintaining, that the Ekid position remains legally unassailable.

“We have more than enough evidence to puncture the press release issued by the state government. Our caveat was necessitated by the unauthorized sale of portions of Akoiyak Ekid to private investors without consulting the rightful landowners,” he said.

Also reacting, Obongiwaad Captain Willie Mbong, President of Afigh Iwaad Ekid, stated the government’s press release has deepened the already poisoned relationship between Ekid and the Akwa Ibom State Government, while dangerously stoking tensions between Ekid and Ibeno communities.

“This statement has exacerbated bad blood and pushed the region closer to avoidable conflict,” he warned.