Sorrowful mother of four and widow of Sampson Akpan, hacked down by their hostile Eket neighbours in the wake of renewed Ibeno communal attack in Akwa Ibom State, Immaculata Sampson Akpan, has blamed the government and security agencies for the deadly attack that claimed lives in the area.
The widow of the victim of the communal war, warned that unless steps are taken, the next attack could turn the place into a war theatre.
Akpan also cried out to the Federal, State and Local Governments for help, recounting her sorry story since the invasion of Ndito Eka Iba village, where the husband was gruesomely murdered during an alleged inferno on December 24, 2024 by their Eket Local Government neighbours.
Akpan, who told reporters in Ibeno over the weekend that she and her children are living from hand to mouth, also appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency, State Emergency Management Agency, churches, and other public-spirited Nigerians for help for her and the more 2,000 displaced victims, including children, in the area
The widow, who was in tears while narrating her ordeal, said her late husband, from Eket LGA, only lived in Ndito Eka Iba community in Ibeno LGA to carry out fishing business, but was killed for his patriotism by Eket aggressors seeking to annex Ndito Eka Iba village to Eket Local Government Area.
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The December 24, 2024 invasion of Ndito Eka Iba village by the attackers from Eket was the fourth in the series of attacks on Ibeno LGA since the controversial attempt by former Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel to remap Akwa Ibom State, a case presently in court.
According to Akpan: “We have lived in Ndito Eka Iba village peacefully for over 40 years.
“The last attack has left huge pains on the community members after the invaders from Eket LGA launched arson on homes, destroying churches, health centres, several boats with outboard engines, cars, motorcycles, and other valuables, including fishing gears.
“If the government does not wade in this time around and stop the Eket and Esit Eket people from setting up parallel village administrations in Ibeno East communities like Itak Ifa, Atia, Nubaraks, Itak Idung Ekpe, Itak Idem, and Okom Ita, among others, which is what causes the crisis in Ndito Eka Iba, it can spill to many villages in Ibeno and cause more crisis.”
The struggling mother of four also recalled several missing children, whose whereabouts remain unknown till today, stating: “When our neighbours from Eket LGA launched the attack on the night of December 24, 2024, we were caught unawares.
“Prior to the attack, the attackers had attempted to host a party to herald the Christmas Day, but instead of using the village name of Ndito Eka Iba, which is Unit 6, Ward 10, a gazetted village in Ibeno, they used the name Okoiyak Ekid to reflect their Eket identity, that Ndito Eka Iba village in Ibeno LGA no longer belongs to Ibeno LGA, but Eket LGA.
“Because of this, the youths of Ndito Eka Iba village approached them and advised them against altering the original name of the village, but they rather threatened war, which they (the Eket people) later launched that eventful night, forcing people to scamper into the shrubs where they spent the night before coming out in the morning to seek refuge in other communities.
“The entire village of Ndito Eka Iba has been left in total ruins and I have relocated to my village – Odio in Eket LGA, after my husband had been killed, while his remains were buried in a shallow grave without his head that had been taken away by the attackers.
“I have been dislocated from where I used to do business with my four children, trading in fish, crayfish, and other seafoods like periwinkles, prawns, and others.
“I call on security agencies and the State Government to rise up and protect Ibeno people who are facing extinction through incessant attacks by the Eket and Esit Eket Local Government neighbours.”
The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Azare, when contacted on the incident, said the suspects were still in custody as the investigations have been done.
CP Azare said: “Investigations on the case had since been concluded and the suspects charged to court.”
He said no one has any right to interfere in the matter, adding: “I take full responsibility over the case.
“And I have spoken with the investigative officer who told me that the matter had already been charged to court.”
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