10 feared killed as Ilaje fishermen, Ibeno natives clash in Akwa Ibom

ABOUT 10 people were feared killed and others missing, while properties worth millions of naira were destroyed following a communal clash on Wednesday between the mostly Yoruba and Ijaw residents and natives of Ibeno, a riverside community in Akwa Ibom State. 

Although the immediate cause of the violence was yet to be established as of the time of filing this report, as the paramount ruler of the community, Owong Effiong Achianga, could not respond to enquiries due to ill health, it was learnt the fracas might not be unconnected with perennial ethnic fights between the host and the migrant residents in time past. 

However, one of the local residents of Mkpanak in Ibeno Local Government, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, hinted that “the crisis started as a result of the cult clash, before it snowballed into ethnic dimensions.” 

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The source said, “the Ilaje people, mostly fishermen, have started fleeing the community through bush paths, while their houses and shanties close to the waterfront had been looted and razed by hoodlums.” 

Also, a Yoruba resident, Mr Oluwajuwon Ogunbiyi, who confirmed the development, described the situation as unfortunate, just as he called on the state government to set up a committee to investigate the crisis. 

“The state government must, as a matter of urgency, set up a committee to look into this crisis so as to ascertain the major cause, while perpetrators fanning the embers of war on both sides must be arrested immediately,” Ogunbiyi said. 

Meanwhile, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Odiko Macdon, in his reaction to the development, said he was yet to be brief on the incident by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Ibeno.