For some years, plantain chip has been one of Nigeria’s ultimate snacks which is affordable, accessible, and portable. But as inflation hovers at historic highs, a sinister economic survival tactic has crept into the informal food sector. Economy&Lifestyle discovered that to cut costs and keep chips crispy for days, some street entrepreneurs are turning to a…
THE DEFINITIVE EBOM POSITION: NON-CONTIGUITY AND SUPPORT FOR PEACEFUL ALTERNATIVE RESETTLEMENT Ebom seeks neither perpetual hostility nor confrontation with Ebijakara. However, the bitter lessons of over a century of recurrent clashes, culminated by the atrocities of 2006, 2018, and 2019, have established an incontrovertible imperative: the physical contiguity of Ebom and Ebijakara as immediate residential…
By Blessing Yashim At just 17, Adeola, a Nigerian teenager, never imagined that trying a strawberry-flavoured vape a few months earlier would set her on this path, TRT Afrika reported in June 2025. What began as a simple experiment soon became something she struggled to control. Now, her hands sometimes shake when the craving for…
THE JANUARY 2006 INVASION: OFFICIAL FINDINGS OF THE JUDICIAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY Following the outbreak of violence in January 2006, His Excellency Mr Donald Duke constituted the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Hostilities between Ebom and Ebijakara Communities in Abi Local Government Area, under the Chairmanship of Hon. Justice Sylvester A. Obi (Rtd). The official…
THE TRUE STORY OF THE 1917 EVICTION AND THE 1927/1932 SUPREME COURT VINDICATIONS In 1911, Aberiba exploited the literacy of their brothers in Igbo court clerks from Bende serving in the fledgling Ediba Native Court to orchestrate a fraudulent suit based on a fabricated survey sketch. Archival records from the National Archives reveal the true…
The True Origin of Aberiba/Ebijakara: Migrants, Blacksmiths, and Customary Tenants PART TWO The name “Abiriba” (or “Aberiba”) in regional history applied exclusively to the blacksmithing and warrior clan located in the Bende cultural division of present-day Abia State. Fleeing inter-tribal warfare under their war leader, Nkanu Ebi Esu (from whom they derived their militant banner…
By Ofem Irem Okpokpo PART ONE BACKGROUND AND PRELIMINARY STATEMENT Arising from recent developments wherein the public space has been inundated with calculated distortions of historical and judicial records by persons representing the Ebijakara community (formerly documented in colonial records as Aberiba or Aberiba Ebom), most notably during their street protest in Calabar on Monday,…
By Emmanuel Onwuka Pregnant and seeking routine antenatal care, Khadija Yunusa never expected a visit to Aisami Health Clinic in Sani Mai Nagge Ward, Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State, to leave her unwell. Beside the open, unfenced facility, a group of young men regularly gathered, and thick smoke from cigarettes and other products…
By Emmanuel Onwuka At just 16 years old, Abubakar Salau was receiving treatment for snuff addiction at the psychiatry ward of Karu General Hospital, as reported in a publication by the World Health Organization (WHO). “I used to mix liquid glue with old tobacco to make my snuff. Whenever I sniffed it, the feeling was…
By Sylvia Akpan It was already late on Tuesday evening when CrossRiverWatch arrived at Ikang Primary Health Center in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State. Before the facility came into view, however, the road seemed to disappear into darkness. The unpaved approach was swallowed by thick vegetation. There was no gatekeeper, no security…
