•Governor Umo Eno (L) and Commissioner for Justice & Attorney General, Uko Udom (SAN)
The Akwa Ibom State Government has reaffirmed its lawful authority over the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, dismissing as false and misleading recent claims by a group known as the Ekid People’s Union regarding ownership of land within the reserve, while also restating its full support for the Federal Government’s Coastal Highway project.
In a statement issued yesterday 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.
According to the statement, any contrary interpretation being circulated in the public space amounts to a distortion of the judicial record and is misleading.
The government further 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, which has since administered the area in accordance with applicable laws.
Reaffirming its constitutional mandate, the state 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 categorically denied allegations of fraud or misrepresentation in relation to the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve or any investments within the area, warning that it would take appropriate legal steps against individuals or groups engaged in the publication of false, misleading or defamatory information capable of undermining public confidence or discouraging investment and infrastructural development in the state.
In furtherance of national development objectives, the Akwa Ibom State government 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 government’s commitment to the rule of law and to the resolution of all disputes through due judicial process, while urging all parties to refrain from misleading the public and allow matters currently before the court.
