Akwa Ibom Reaffirms Control Over Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, Backs Coastal Highway Project

The Akwa Ibom State Government has reaffirmed its legal authority over the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, dismissing claims by the Ekid People’s Union regarding ownership of land within the reserve.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uko Essien Udom, SAN, the government said it was “compelled to address the matter in the overriding public interest, despite the existence of a pending suit filed by the same group before a court of competent jurisdiction.”

The government 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.” It warned that “any contrary interpretation being circulated in the public space amounts to a distortion of the judicial record and is misleading.”

The statement 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.”

Reaffirming its constitutional mandate, the 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.”

The government also dismissed allegations of fraud or misrepresentation relating to the forest reserve or investments in the area and warned it would take legal action against anyone spreading false or defamatory information that could discourage public confidence or investment.

In line with national development goals, Akwa Ibom 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.”

The statement concluded by reaffirming the state’s commitment to the rule of law and the resolution of disputes through judicial processes, urging all parties to avoid misleading the public while legal proceedings are ongoing.