Barely 24 hours after the leaders of the oil-rich community in Upenekang, headquarters of Ibeno local government area of Akwa Ibom state, hinted at a plot to attack the area, armed hoodlums have invaded, killed one, Injured scores and razed some homes.
LEADERSHIP learnt that the midnight attack at Inua Eyet Ikot village in Ibeno LGA was said to have been perpetrated by militants suspected to come from the Edor community in the neighbouring Esit Eket LGA, who had earlier issued quiet notice to the Ibeno natives, claiming they are settlers in their (Eket) land.
The Ulok Ulok Progressives Assembly (UUPA), a socio-cultural association of the Ibeno people, had hinted at the planned attack, recalling that the latest incident was a follow-up to the quit notice already given to Ibeno people to vacate their ancestral land of inheritance by the Ekid People‘s Union (EPU) led by Dr. Samuel Udonsak.
According to the group, hoodlums had earlier attacked the Ibeno community, killing and injuring several residents last December 2024.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity described the attack as very disturbing. It was the fourth of four such skirmishes between February 26, 2024, and Sunday, February 9, 2025.
He lamented that there was no resistance by the people of Inua Eyet Ikot, as the residence of the Village Head, Chief Ikotinyie‘s house, alongside others, was razed down by the assailants.
He said: „This is very disturbing, and the additional update from home is that Ekwid people destroyed Chief Ikotinyie‘s house in Inua Eyet Ikot without any resistance.
From my account, this attack is the fourth between 26 February 2024 and February 9, 2025“, adding that the assailants, who are allegedly members of Ekid People‘s Union led by Dr Samuel Udonsak, killed one person and took the corpse, while also destroying houses including the Village Head, Chief Ikotinyie at Inua Eyet Ikot.“
Confirming the incident, state Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Timfon John, linked the attack on the community to cult clashes, assuring operatives intensifying efforts to bring those responsible for the attack on residents of Inua Eyet Ikot Phase 2, Ibeno LGA, to justice.
She explained that the Command received a distress call about an attack on the community, saying the Police personnel were immediately mobilised to the scene as the assailants had already fled.
She said preliminary investigations revealed that two buildings were set ablaze, while one man (name withheld) sustained gunshot wounds on his right leg and left shoulder and was taken to the hospital.
Following a fact-finding visit to the scene by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in -charge of Operations, DCP Adamu Mohammed Bello, fresh intelligence has linked the attack to a cult clash“.
Before the attack on Sunday night, the Ulok Ulok Progressives Assembly (UUPA), a socio-cultural association of indigenous people of Ibeno, had raised the alarm over the weekend, alleging plans by Eket People‘s Union and Esit Eket Local Government Areas to perpetuate violence in the State, to sabotage federal government effort to increase crude oil production in their domain.
The fresh threats are linked to the struggle to own Stubb Creek Forest in Ibeno LGA, acquired by BUA Group for a refinery project and Landmark Beach Resort.
They averred that the so-called „Quit Notice“ is not targeted at Ibeno because Ibeno is a Local Government Area created by law. Still, they are targeting the existing and intending investors trooping into Ibeno with the abundant oil/gas and other natural resources in Ibeno.
