Aggrieved leaders and youths of the oil – bearing coastal community of Ibeno ethnic nationality and others in the diaspora have expressed dismay at what they described as fabricated lies by their neighbours in Eket and Esit Eket local government areas of Akwa Ibom State.
It was gathered that a few days after launching attacks on the sleepy community of Inua Eyet Ikot in Ibeno LGA, allegedly by the Eket aggressors, leading to the burning of homes and injuries to over 12 residents, the Eket people issued a counter disposition, accusing lbeno of also targeting and attacking their community for opposing their agitation for the creation of Obolo State in Akwa Ibom.
While accusing Eket and Esit Eket LGAs of causing a series of boundary disputes against Ibeno over the years, the Ibeno leaders in a communique at the end of their emergency meeting at Ulok Ulok Hall, Upenekang, headquarters of the council, vowed to institute a lawsuit as their last resort if the Eket failed to recant the allegation and apologise.
The communique, signed by the spokesman of the Ibeno apex socio-cultural organisation, Ulok Ulok Progressives Assembly (UUPA), Chief Udofia Okon Udofia, and made available to journalists at the weekend, wondered why the Governor Umo Eno-led state government could not stop the perennial skirmishes in Ibeno ancentral land over the years.
“Our attention has been drawn to a reckless, inflammatory, and dangerous publication titled ‘Outfall of Obolo State Failure: Ibeno Miscreants Invade Eket Village, Damage Building.’
“The vile piece riddled with half-truths, unfounded allegations, and ethnic profiling deliberately targeted at the industrious people of Ibeno LGA.
“We reject in the strongest terms this cowardly attempt to incite public hatred and ethnic tensions through unguarded utterances and twisted historical fabrications.
“Contrary to the false narrative being peddled, the real tragedy occurred not in Eket, but in Ibeno. On Friday, 1st August 2025, the peaceful community of Inua Eyet Ikot in Ibeno LGA, was invaded by criminal elements from Eket leading to the loss of innocent lives, several people injured, and the destruction of residential properties.
“In the wake of these unprovoked aggressions, the Executive Chairman of Ibeno, Hon. Glory Ekah Effiong, who has always toed the line of peace, immediately mobilised humanitarian support, visiting the victims, providing relief to the injured, and shelter for the displaced.
“Her intervention demonstrated true leadership and compassion in the face of an unjustifiable act of violence.
“There is no verifiable report anywhere, either with the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, the Department of State Services, or local security formations, confirming any so called ‘Ibeno invasion’ of Ine Iko Ibiok village in Esit Eket. That story is a fictitious tale, planted to provoke unrest and malign the peace loving people of Ibeno,” the statement said.
The leaders, who frowned at what they described as wanton exhibition of sentiments to attract undue sympathy to cover up years of atrocities against the peace-loving people of Ibeno, said, such is a display of infantile narrative aimed to drag the name of their prominent leaders, including the executive chairman, in the mud.
“The fabrication of crude criminalities against a people is not only defamatory, but deliberate act of political blackmail and ethnic scapegoating. We will not sit idly while the image of our leaders is dragged through the mud by frustrated political elements in Eket and Esit Eket LGAs,” the group warned.
They identified those fanning these flames of disunity with inciting rhetorics and publications as notable political appointees, elected officials, and retired politicians in Eket and Esit Eket LGAs.
“These political schemers from Eket and Esit Eket LGAs hold a history of tribal commentary and antagonistic rhetoric towards Ibeno people,” they recalled, explaining that, their quest for a separate state was borne out of these barefaced hatred, marginalisation and intimidating schemes.
“It is on record that, from 2024 February till now, Ibeno communities have suffered multiple attacks from Eket neighbours. In all these, it is our conviction that the state government and the Akwa Ibom State Police Command know the actors without calling them to order.
“Our belief is that you don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house, but on the whole, there is a limit for human endurance. A word is enough for the wise. The quest for Obolo State was a legitimate constitutional advocacy by coastal communities seeking development equity, not aggression.
The agitation for Obolo State, like every other group in Nigeria, is a reflection of the country’s federal character struggles and not an excuse for slanderous historical revisionism.
“To describe Ibeno people as ‘slaves’ and ‘refugees’ is a hateful lie from the pit of bigotry. Ibeno predates colonial Nigeria, and our ancestors have inhabited and fished our coastline for centuries. No amount of historical manipulation can erase this truth.
“We demand the immediate retraction of that inciting publication and lies from Eket and Esit Eket people and warn those behind it that, we are prepared to pursue legal redress, both for the libel against our leaders and the defamation of our collective identity.
“We call on Governor Umo Eno, the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, the Department of State Services, and traditional rulers across Eket Senatorial District to urgently investigate this publication, bring its sponsors to book, and prevent a breakdown of peace in our coastal belt.
“Let it be known that we will not be cowed. The dignity, heritage, and peace of Ibeno must be respected, just as we have consistently respected our neighbours,” the statement reads.
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