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•Abia, Akwa Ibom seek lasting solutions to protracted land disputes
From Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
Boundary disputes between some Abia State communities and their Akwa Ibom State neighbours have been on the rise. This is even as Aba State Government made firm its resolve not to allow encroachment into any land belonging to communities in its approved area of jurisdiction.
Its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ikechukwu Uwanna, restated this in Umuahia, as he responded to a petition by residents of Akirika Obu Ndoki against the alleged invasion of their community by Ika Annang people of Akwa Ibom State.
The fragile relationship between the two neighbours deteriorated recently, following the construction of a road by Abia State into the territory of the Akwa Ibom community. Uwanna, who spoke to Daily Sun on telephone said the ministry had been receiving petitions from different communities on the issue of encroachment.
He, however, said that the Office of the State Deputy Governor responsible for handling such issues, was on top of the situation: “We have been receiving petitions from different communities on the issue of encroachment. As a responsive and responsible government, we will not sit down and watch the people suffer.”
The Akirika-Obu people in the petition to the Attorney General dated March 16, 2025, urged Governor Alex Otti, to move fast, as some officials in his administration were allegedly trying to cede their community to Akwa Ibom State, using the tactics of inviting the National Boundary Commission (NBC), to adjudicate the age-long issues at stake.
The petition signed by the community chairman, Chief Friday Nna; secretary, Mr Onyemachi Abia; community leader, Mr Mercy Ucheime; youth council chairman, Mr Emma Mbacha; and a former councillor of the ward, Ikechi Ochonna, said the community had to write, to protest the continuous unlawful occupation of facilities in their land by the Akwa Ibom State government.
The leaders lamented that currently, their people left their homes and were living in bushes as a result of attacks by heavily armed ***men (Ika Annang people), while Abia State Government turned a blind eye to their being killed and their properties destroyed in their own fatherland.
The community leaders recalled that they had also, in another petition dated March 20, 2025, addressed to the Chief of Army Staff. They complained about the unlawful and crude actions of soldiers from the Ibawa Battalion Barracks, Abak, in Akwa Ibom State, who they accused of aiding heavily ***armed youths (from Ika Annang) to invade their community. They hey wreaked havoc and stopped ongoing road constructions in their community:
“Soldiers from Ibawa Battalion know that Akirika-Obu is under FOB of 144 Battalion, ASA under the 14 Brigade, Ohafia, yet they boldly came with armed civilians to cause mayhem in the community, thereby helping in fuelling crisis instead of maintaining peace.”
In May last year, some communities in Ndoki clan in Ukwa East Local Government, Abia State, had raised the alarm of plans by their Akwa Ibom neighbours to annex their land. President General, Board of Trustees, Ndoki Community Development Union (NCDU), Chief Sunday Uche Aja, made the allegation when he led members of his executive on a visit to Governor Alex Otti.
He said it was unfortunate that their neighbours in Etim Ekpo Local Government Akwa Ibom State, were on daily basis encroaching into Ndoki land and doing everything to annex their communities with the tacit support of the Akwa Ibom State Government: “We are pleading with Governor Alex Otti not to allow Akwa Ibom State to annex our communities.”
The Chief of Staff, Caleb Ajagba, who represented the governor, urged the people not to resort to self-help over the boundary matter. He told em to report any encroachment by Akwa Ibom people to the deputy governor whom he promised to take the matter up immediately.
Elsewhere, NBC last week, blamed the Ikot Essien community in Akwa Ibom State for stalling efforts to resolve the boundary dispute between them and the Atan Abam community in Abia State.
According to the NBC, residents of Ikot Essien reportedly launched attacks on their Abia neighbours ahead of a scheduled boundary demarcation exercise, leading to tensions in the area and suspension of the fieldwork
In a letter dated July 28, 2025, and addressed to the Deputy Governor of Abia State and Chairman of the Abia State Boundary Committee, Ikechukwu Emetu, NBC’s Director General, Adamu Adaji, condemned the attacks and described them as a setback to the commission’s progress:
“I write to acknowledge receipt of your letter on the above referred subject, dated July 16, 2025. It is indeed disheartening to receive such report of violence on the Atan Abam community by the people of Ikot Essien
“The Commission frowns at this disturbing development, having achieved so much in the definition processes of the inter-state boundary. The field activities outlined for implementation from July 21 to August 25, 2025, has been stalled by this ugly development.”
The intractable boundary dispute had prompted a joint meeting between the two communities and the governments of both states on March 18, 2025. Eyakenyi, alongside her Abia counterpart, Emetu, visited the disputed areas to mediate and appeal for peace between the warring communities.
Eyakenyi addressed the communities, urging them to refrain from violence and allow the two state governments resolve the dispute amicably. To deescalate tensions, the deputy governors agreed that construction around Ikot Udo would be temporarily suspended:
“When we heard that there is a crisis brewing here because of the road construction, my colleague and I agreed that we should come here today to first appeal to the two communities to sheathe their swords. Let us not resort to violence.
“We have agreed that the construction work should not start from Ikot Udo, the crisis environment. Let it start from the Abia State end before it gets to Ikot Udo, the two governors would have spoken and reached an agreement that will bring permanent peace.
“It is not you (the disputing communities) that will take that decision. Our leaders, the two governors will take that decision and we will pass it on to you. The decision on the boundary dispute rests with the NBC, which will soon review the situation and create a permanent demarcation line for lasting peace.”
Abia deputy governor reassured the people that the road construction project was not intended for land grabbing, emphasising the state’s willingness to collaborate with Akwa Ibom and the NBC for a peaceful resolution.
