GONE TO THEIR LONG HOME

"The final seven months of Madame Atim's life were very sorrowful and painful. In those seven months, she  longed for justice. Her hopes and anticipations were met with frustration and denial of justice."

Mama Atim Akpabio

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.

coffins where late Mama and Elizabeth were laid

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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.

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.

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.

Lady Apostle Helen Ukpabio

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 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.

Choristers

Bassey had contested for governorship of Akwa Ibom State and also for the senatorial seat but failed in both attempts. The paramount ruler used him a great deal to frustrate Nkari, for instance, the road project of Nkari was given to Bassey on the recommendation of the former Paramount ruler  - Chief Nyaudo Inuaeyen. Yet the roads in Nkari have remained as bad as ever. Same applies to the electricity project in Nkari.

On the 24^th 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 25^th  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.

a section of attendees

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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 25^th 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.

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