The leadership of the Ekid People’s Union (EPU) in Akwa Ibom State has voiced strong displeasure over Governor Umo Eno’s description of the Ekid people as “terrorists” following their opposition to alleged illegal land transactions in the disputed Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.
Governor Eno had made the remark during the Christmas commissioning of a Model Health Centre at Nduo Eduo in Eket Local Government Area, where he accused the Ekid people of frustrating development efforts by placing a caveat emptor and resisting the routing of the proposed coastal or super highway through the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.
Reacting to the statement, the EPU Board of Trustees (BoT), in an open letter issued on Sunday, the 4th of January, 2026, and endorsed by its Chairman, Nduese Essien, and Secretary, Bassey Itama, described the governor’s comments as inflammatory and deeply hurtful, especially coming from a sitting governor.
The BoT questioned why lawful concerns raised by the Ekid people over activities in Stubbs Creek are often portrayed as criminal acts. According to the letter, “The declaration of Ekid people as “terrorists” under the guise that they are resisting the routing of a proposed coastal or super highway through the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve did not entirely surprise us. Sadly, such language has become a recurring feature whenever Ekid people raise questions about the Stubbs Creek.”
The group reminded the governor that he lived and conducted business in Ekid land for over 35 years without harassment and enjoyed the people’s support during his political rise. They described it as unjust for him to now label them terrorists simply because they “refused their ancestral lands to be appropriated indiscriminately without due process, consultation and compensation.”
Addressing the caveat emptor earlier issued by the union described by the governor as an attempt to block the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway the BoT clarified that the notice was not aimed at halting development, rather, it was meant to alert prospective investors to ongoing illegal land racketeering within the forest reserve, including the allocation of ancestral land without consultation, consent or compensation.
The letter explained that the warning became necessary after repeated instances in which Ekid land within Stubbs Creek was allocated to security agencies and private firms as though the indigenous owners did not exist. “Such actions, if left unchallenged, would set a dangerous precedent and permanently dispossess Ekid people of their heritage. Silence, in this context, would have amounted to surrender,” it stated.
The EPU also dismissed claims that opposition to activities in Stubbs Creek was being driven by a few individuals, affirming that its President, Dr Samuel Udonsak, acts with the full mandate of the Ekid people and remains their legitimate spokesperson.
On the legal status of Stubbs Creek, the union cited a 1918 Privy Council judgment recognising Ekid ownership of the swamps east of the Qua Iboe River, alongside the Akwa Ibom State Map Law of 2023, arguing that Ekid territorial rights remain intact despite the area’s classification as a forest reserve.
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Beyond legal considerations, the union warned of severe environmental consequences if development in the area continues unchecked, describing Stubbs Creek as one of the state’s last major forest ecosystems, vital for flood control, biodiversity and traditional livelihoods.
The EPU therefore called on the state government to embrace peace, halt hostile rhetoric and engage meaningfully with stakeholders, including conducting transparent environmental and social impact assessments and reviewing any project that could endanger the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.
Concluding the letter, the union stated: “Ekid people remain open to dialogue provided we are not expected to sign off our inalienable rights. We remain committed to peace. We remain willing partners in the development of Akwa Ibom State. But we will also remain steadfast in defending our land, our environment, and our dignity. That stance is not terrorism. It is responsible citizenship rooted in the rule of law.”