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| Mama Atim Akpabio |
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| Daughter - Elizabeth Akpabio |
On the 26th January, 2013, late Mama Atim Akpabio who passed away last year November, and her daughter - Elizabeth - were laid to rest in their family compound in Mbente Village, Ini Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
The funeral service had in attendance, officiating Ministers such as Archbishop E. Mboho, Archbishop E. Mekomou, Apostle Prof. Isaiah Isong, Bishop N. E. Moses, Bishop Mike Laju and a host of others. The full chain of events that led to the death of Mama and her beautiful daughter, along with her eminent sons began sometime last year.
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| coffins where late Mama and Elizabeth were laid |
It all began
on the 24th March, 2012. Three white men working with A.G. Visions came to
Mbente village in the company of Benjamin Christopher Akpan Otu from Ifa
village of Nkari Clan - Ini Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
Benjamin
Christopher Akpan Otu was a bossom friend to Mama's son - Joseph Akpabio
who is now late. The three white men were allegedly coming to discuss
compensation of the proposed dam in Nkari and they needed to meet with the
youth leaders. At the time, Joseph was the youth leader.
Mama's
husband - Chief Essesien Akpabio owns a greater part of the land used for the
dam. His palm tree plantation, economic trees and other cash crops were
destroyed without any previous warning or knowledge of such operations.
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| Family Sepulchre |
Mama’s
husband needed to know why, but all attempts to get answers were frustrated by
the late paramount ruler, Obong Nyaudo Inuaeyen and Bassey Inuaeyen who claimed
to be a prince and a son of the former paramount ruler in Ini L.G.A. Work began in the land
used for the dam without any consent from her husband. People were misinformed
especially the poor villagers who knew very little about government policies
concerning such matters. The entire community was divided into two – the
paramount ruler’s loyalists and a few sympathizers on her husband’s side.
Back in the
70’s, The Cross River Basin Authourity under Late Chief Ndaeyo Inuaeyen as the
General Manager then, (the elder brother to the paramount ruler, Obong Nyaudo
Inuaeyen) took Mama Husband’s land in Mbat and gave it to the Basin Authourity
without any compensation.
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| some of the Officiating Ministers in attendance |
When he
asked for compensation, he was framed up and jailed for years. This frightened
people in the community who then believed that the paramount ruler will ask the
government to jail people who sought after justice or questioned his actions.
People swallowed their words and tried to avoid acts that would land them in
jail. Mama husband’s insistence on getting compensation landed him in jail.
Now, with
the advent of the dam issue, the trend from the 70’s was about to repeat
itself. The same paramount ruler and his brother gave out Mama husband’s land
again without any compensation for several years. As Mama’s children grew up,
they became aware of the victimization, hatred and bitterness from the royalty
to their poor father. They decided to resist further oppression on their
father. The children of the paramount ruler got proper education up to the
university level and are well employed with the Local Government but Mama’s
children could not go to school because her husband was in and out of jail.
Mama’s family was destabilized and exposed to poverty.
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| Lady Apostle Helen Ukpabio |
The clan
council under the leadership of Obong Nyaudo Inuaeyen had made claim to the
ownership of the land and Bassey Inuaeyen is a member of this council. With the
demise of Obong Nyaudo Inuaeyen, Bassey Inuaeyen automatically became the head of
Nkari Council of Chiefs, so he claimed to have owned the land, whereas his
father (who iks from Mbente village), Chief Ekpenyong Inuaeyen has no land
there.
The former
paramount ruler saw to it that Mbente Village Head appointees shared his
sentiments conserning Mama’s husband and his family; as a result, Mbente never
had a legitimate village head. They were all stooges of the paramount ruler.
This explains why since 2002 till date, there is no village head in Mbente .
The late Paramount Ruler was from Ikot Offiong village while Bassey Inuaeyen is
from Mbente village, yet he claimed that former Paramount Ruler was his
biological father. He is known by friends and peers as “prince”. This lie
seemed believable because of the coincidence of name.
Those
who swore to the Paramount Ruler’s loyalty were rewarded with chieftaincy
titles. Bassey Inuaeyen was one of them. The two industrious sons of Mbente
became strict loyalists to his majesty.
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| Choristers |
On the 24th
of March 2012, Bassey sent the three white men to llure the rightful owners
of the land , mama’s children - late Joseph, Charles and Emmanuel for a
meetingon how to pay their rightly deserved compensation. Their bosom friend,
Benjamin Christopher Akpan Otu in a statement to the police confessed that he
was chosen by Bassey inuaeyen to set up the boys. Bassey had severally sent the
boys on errands that could implicate them and asked Christopher to secretly
film them. All these evidence is with Bassey. Noel Nduka, the SSS agent in Akwa
Ibom State was hired by Bassey to carry out these unlawful and heinous
killings.
The boys
agreed to meet at Ikot Ekpene to discuss compensation details, unknown to them
that they were being lured to their deaths. Benjamin Christopher Akpan Otu was
paid some money and was compensated with councillorship slot by Bassey, though
he stood no election. This is his wage for luring his friends to be killed in
cold blood. He is the current councillor of Nkari Clan.
On the 25th of March, Mama’s sons rounded up by a team
led by Noel Nduka of the SSS, while inn a meeting with the supposed white men,
bound, shot on their knees and brought to the village from Ikot Ekpene with the
intention to first kill Mama’s husband in their presence before sending them to
their early graves. On arrival, they saw only Mama. They searched for her
husband and could not find him. Finally, they killed the boys in front of their
aged mother (Mama). Mama witnessed the murder of her boys in such cruelty. Her
husband heard the gunshots from where he was hiding.
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| a section of attendees |
see more photos
Bassey Inuaeyen has told several people in the village that it is the government that killed Mama’s sons but the government has totally denied this claim. It is wrong to kill people who are not involved in the act of insurrection or without putting them on trial before a court of law if they were accused of committing any crime. Bassey has lied to the whole community, and since these boys were killed, he has refused to come to the village.
Bassey Inuaeyen has told several people in the village that it is the government that killed Mama’s sons but the government has totally denied this claim. It is wrong to kill people who are not involved in the act of insurrection or without putting them on trial before a court of law if they were accused of committing any crime. Bassey has lied to the whole community, and since these boys were killed, he has refused to come to the village.
However,
Mama died long before her death. She died the day she saw her labour, effort
and hope thwarted by the killer, Noel Nduka of SSS, hired by Bassey Inuaeyen.
Her beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Akpabio died on hearing of her brothers’death
and finally Mama is gone. Rosaline, on e of Mama’s daughters was unconscious
for several hours after Mama died. The ploy was to wipe out the entire family.
Bassey Inuaeyen has told different stories about Mama’s sons and framed them up
as kidnappers; to some he said they were armed robbers and terrorists. In all
these false accusations, nobody has been able to lay any credible evidence to
link Mama’s children to those crimes. All these accusations are idle talks.
Mama was
worn out by stress and constant worry. She grew weaker by the day. She
constantly spoke of her dead sons and severally replayed the murder scene in
her head. She kept asking about the murderers of her sons; She asked when they will eventually be arrested; She asked why her
sons were killed.
She slumped
on Sunday, the 25th of November , 2012. She was rushed to the
University of Calabar Teaching Hospital where she gave up the ghost the next
day.
HOWEVER,
MAMA, MMA, MADAM ATIM AKPABIO HAS GONE TO HER LONG HOME AND WILL NOT RETURN TO
THIS WORLD AGAIN. ALL THANKS TO BASSEY INUAEYEN.
