NO OIL WELLS CEDED, SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT STANDS — A’IBOM GOVT
By Imoh ESSIEN (Uyo)
The Akwa Ibom State Government has dismissed as speculative and misleading reports suggesting that oil wells belonging to the state may be “returned” to Cross River State following the submission of a purported report by a Federal Government inter-agency committee to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
Addressing journalist Monday in Uyo, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uko Udom, SAN, clarified that what the Commission received on February 13, 2026, was merely a draft report and not a final decision or approved recommendation. He stressed that the RMAFC had publicly described circulating claims as speculative and not reflective of any concluded position.
The Commissioner further anchored the state’s position on the binding judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which he said had conclusively settled the long-standing boundary dispute between Akwa Ibom and Cross River State.
He recalled that in Suit No. 124/1999, Cross River State had challenged both the northern non-estuarine boundary involving parts of Itu Local Government Area and the southern estuarine boundary where the oil wells are located.
It would be recalled that on June 24, 2005, the apex court ruled in favour of Cross River only in respect of portions of the northern boundary, dismissing its claims over the estuarine southern territory where the oil wells are situated.
The Attorney General noted that the court, in its judgment, referenced the October 10, 2002 decision of the International Court of Justice on the Nigeria-Cameroon boundary, which effectively altered Cross River State’s coastal status following the cession of the Bakassi Peninsula. According to him, the implication was that Cross River ceased to possess a seaward boundary. He added that in a subsequent ruling delivered on July 10, 2012, the Supreme Court reaffirmed Akwa Ibom’s entitlement to offshore oil derivation, holding that Cross River was no longer a littoral state and therefore not entitled to offshore benefits.
In his words; “What we are seeing is an attempt to use an administrative process to undermine the supreme Court judgement which is binding”.
Citing Section 235 of the 1999 Constitution, Udom emphasized that decisions of the Supreme Court are final and binding on all authorities and persons in the federation, stressing that no inter-agency committee or administrative body has the constitutional authority to alter or override a subsisting judgment of the apex court.
He maintained that all oil wells in question lie within Akwa Ibom State’s legally recognized maritime boundaries based on established hydrographic coordinates and enforceable boundary adjudications, adding that their attribution followed due process and empirical geographic data.
Reassuring Akwa Ibom people, the Attorney General declared that no oil well has been ceded, no Supreme Court judgment has been overturned, and no constitutional provision has been amended. He urged citizens to remain calm and united, assuring that the state government remains vigilant and fully committed to defending its economic interests lawfully and peacefully.
The Attorney General was flanked by the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Aniekan Umanah, Commissioner for Finance and Coordinating Commissioner in the Ministry of Special Duties and Ibom Deep Seaport, Mr. Emem Bob, Team Lead of the Legal team that represented the State, Paul Usoro, (SAN), another member of the legal team, Barr. Emmanuel Enoidem(SAN), Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Ekerette Udoh, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Research and Documentation, Dr. Essien Ndueso, among others.
