By Solomon OKPO
The Ekid People’s Union (EPU), the apex sociocultural organisation of the Ekid nation, has issued a formal caveat warning members of the public, investors, and corporate entities against engaging in land transactions within the Stubb’s Creek Forest Reserve area of Akwa Ibom State.
In a notice jointly signed by the President General of the Union, Dr. Samuel Udonsak, and the Secretary General, Sir (Barr.) Bassey Dan-Abia, the EPU asserted that the land lying east of the Qua Iboe River along the Gulf of Guinea, popularly known as the Stubb’s Creek Forest Reserve and traditionally called Okoyak, Okoiyak or Akqiyak, is the ancestral land of the Ekid people.
The Union stated that Ekid ownership of the land was judicially affirmed as far back as 1918 by the Privy Council in London in the case of Ntiaro and Ikpak v. Ibok Etukakpan and Edohoekit, as reported in the Nigerian Law Report (NLR).
According to the EPU, records of the proceedings, including maps and survey plans tendered during the trial, are still available at the British National Library in Kew, Richmond, London.
EPU disclosed that the landmass covers approximately 310 square kilometres and is situated between latitude 4°32’N and 4°38’N and longitude 7°54’E and 8°18’E, extending across parts of Eket and Esit Eket Local Government Areas.
While acknowledging that the area was designated a forest reserve under Forest Reserve Order No. 45 of 1930 by the colonial administration, the Union clarified that the designation did not amount to acquisition or extinguishment of Ekid ownership rights.
It stressed that the reservation was solely for forest conservation purposes and did not convert the land to Crown Land or land acquired for overriding public interest.
“The Ekid people were never divested of ownership of the land and still retain title or deemed right of occupancy under the Land Use Act of 1978,” the notice stated.
The Union further accused the Akwa Ibom State Government of what it described as fraudulent misrepresentation of land ownership to the Federal Government and to local and foreign investors.
EPU claimed that such actions have contributed to stalled and delayed investments within the area, including setbacks associated with the proposed Ibom Deep Seaport project.
Consequently, the Ekid People’s Union warned that any individual, corporate body or investor who transacts with the Akwa Ibom State Government, the Ibeno people, or any other group as purported landlords over any portion of the Stubb’s Creek Forest Reserve within the stated coordinates does so at its own risk.
Reaffirming its resolve to defend the ancestral heritage and land rights of the Ekid people, the Union urged all stakeholders to take due notice of the caveat and avoid actions capable of igniting further disputes over the land.
