By Theresa Donatus, Uyo
The long-standing debate over the rightful ownership of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve has finally found clarity through historical, legal, and geographical evidence, all of which confirm that the Reserve is the ancestral and lawful land of the Ibeno people.
For decades, questions surrounding the true custodians of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, one of Akwa Ibom’s most significant ecological and economic assets, have generated friction among local communities.
However, when assessed through the combined lenses of history, law, and geography, the conclusion is now unequivocal: Stubbs Creek belongs to the Ibeno people.
Historical accounts show that the Ibeno people inhabited the Stubbs Creek region long before colonial intervention and the 19th-century gazetting of the area as a forest reserve. African oral traditions consistently trace Ibeno settlement back centuries, identifying the area as their ancestral hunting and fishing grounds.
British missionary Rev. Hope Waddell and colonial surveyors in the late 1800s recorded Ibeno settlements stretching from the Atlantic coast inland to what is now Stubbs Creek. The name “Stubbs Creek,” given during the British colonial period, merely replaced an already thriving indigenous geography.
Though colonial authorities redrew territorial boundaries for administrative convenience, such changes, experts argue, did not erase pre-existing indigenous occupation and customary rights.
A landmark judgment of the Akwa Ibom State High Court, sitting in Uyo, has put the matter beyond dispute. In Suit No. HU/403/2019, delivered on April 27, 2021, Justice Ntong Ntong ruled decisively in favour of the Ibeno people, affirming their continuous and exclusive possession of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve based on customary land rights.
“The plaintiffs (Ibeno) have satisfactorily proved their title to the land under native law and custom, the court has no hesitation in declaring that the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve forms part of the Ibeno ancestral land.” Justice Ntong stated.
The judgment aligns with Nigerian judicial precedents, including Amodu Tijani v. Secretary, Southern Nigeria (1921) AC 399 and Ogunleye v. Oni (1990) 2 NWLR (Pt. 135) 745, which uphold the validity of native land tenure once properly proven.
This ruling confers not just ownership but also administrative responsibility, making Ibeno a recognized stakeholder in any government or corporate dealings involving the Reserve.
Geographical and archival records also support Ibeno’s claim. Colonial maps such as the 1930 Reserve Ordinance Map, Nigeria Survey Maps of 1956 and 1963, and more recent Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Lands and Housing boundary maps (2020), consistently show the Stubbs Creek Reserve within Ibeno’s territorial boundaries.
Natural features like the Ibeno River, which winds through the reserve before emptying into the Atlantic, serve as both physical and cultural landmarks of Ibeno heritage.
Satellite imagery and modern surveys reaffirm that the reserve’s landmass falls squarely within Ibeno Local Government Area, underscoring a continuous geographical identity linking the people to their land.
The formal recognition of Ibeno’s ownership of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve carries wide-reaching implications for resource governance, environmental protection, and inter-communal peace.
The Resource Control and Environmental Governance: The reserve is rich in biodiversity, timber, and potential hydrocarbon resources. Under Nigerian law, Ibeno now has a legitimate voice in determining how these resources are managed, in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Act (2007) and Environmental Impact Assessment Act (1992).
Under the Development Rights and Community Consent: Oil and gas companies such as Seplat Energy (formerly ExxonMobil), Savannah Energy, and Frontier Oil Ltd, must now seek community consent and consultation with Ibeno before conducting operations in or around the reserve, as stipulated under Section 2(1)(b) of the Land Use Act (1978).
For Peacebuilding and Legal Precedent:
The court’s ruling reduces boundary disputes and provides a legal foundation for peaceful coexistence among neighbouring communities. It also sets a precedent for resolving similar land conflicts across the Niger Delta region.
When viewed together, the historical, legal, and geographical dimensions form a cohesive narrative of justice and continuity. Archival sources, including colonial maps, court records, and statutory laws reaffirmed that the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve is, and has always been, Ibeno land.
Key referenced were: Amodu Tijani v. Secretary, Southern Nigeria (1921) AC 399; Ogunleye v. Oni (1990) 2 NWLR (Pt. 135) 745; Akwa Ibom State High Court Judgment, HU/403/2019; Land Use Act (1978); Environmental Impact Assessment Act (1992); Stubbs Creek Reserve Ordinance Map (1930) and Nigeria Survey Maps (1956, 1963)
