Ekpri Nsukara Offot faults malicious attacks on Eteidung Asikpo by disgruntled contestants

Eteidung Emem Denis Asikpo
Village Head of Ekpri Nsukara Offot, Uyo

Tony Okoh, Uyo

Reaffirming its earlier position, the Ekpri Nsukara Offot Village Council has condemned what it considers a coordinated and unjustified smear campaign against Eteidung Emem Denis Asikpo, allegedly orchestrated by Udeme Eyo Asuquo through the Voice of Liberation Network (VLN).

The community stated that Udeme Eyo Asuquo, acting on behalf of himself and others, had, soon after his group lost out in the 2023 village headship contest, consistently embarked on a mission of spreading falsehood and submitting unfounded petitions against Eteidung Emem Denis Asikpo.

“Since then, Udeme Eyo Asuquo and his group have taken it upon themselves to concoct, instigate, fabricate, and raise non-existent allegations against Eteidung Emem Denis Asikpo in a bid to tarnish his reputation and cause a crisis in the community, with the sole intention of having him removed from the throne,” the community leaders stated.

In a statement, Chairman of the Village Council, Comrade Morris Silas Bassey; Secretary of the Village Council, Elder Domingo Bassey Etim, and Youth President of the Village, Mr. Pius Okon, urged members of the public to disregard a news report published by Sahara Reporters on Thursday, November 27, captioned: “Akwa Ibom residents petition Tinubu, accuse Police Officers, Village Heads of Land-Grabbing, attempted murder.”

According to the community, the mastermind of the publication could be none other than Udeme Eyo Asuquo, as the name of his group, Voice of Liberation Network (VLN), appeared as the petitioner.

The community recalled that Udeme Eyo Asuquo had earlier sent a petition to the Deputy Inspector General of Police on February 27, 2025, which led to the unlawful arrest and detention of Eteidung Emem Denis Asikpo from March 8 to 12, 2025, at both the Akwa Ibom State Police Command and the Police Headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

“However, the petitioner, Udeme Eyo Asuquo, was unable to provide any tangible evidence to support any of the allegations, which compelled the Police authorities to release Eteidung Emem Denis Asikpo and request the Paramount Ruler of Uyo to look into any dispute between the parties. Surprisingly, Udeme Eyo Asuquo failed to show up on the date the case was fixed. Again, after being granted an adjournment, he still dishonoured the Traditional Council by failing to appear on the next hearing date,” they stated.

The community said Udeme Eyo Asuquo later came up with another shenanigan by raising a fresh petition against Eteidung Asikpo to the Police Headquarters in Abuja, leading to another round of arrest, yet he still could not substantiate his claims.

The community added that upon sensing possible interdiction over his alleged actions, Udeme Eyo Asuquo absconded from the Police Headquarters and abandoned the matter, only to resurface again with what it described as “cooked-up information” fed to the online media outlet, Sahara Reporters.

The community officers warned Udeme Eyo Asuquo to desist forthwith from recycling false allegations against the Village Head—and by extension the entire village—and to accept the reality that kingship comes from God.

Meanwhile, a High Court in Uyo, presided over by His Lordship Hon. Justice Bassey J. Ekanem, has delivered judgment in a suit filed by Eteidung Emem Denis Asikpo against Udeme Eyo Asuquo, Inspector David Etim, Fortune Bassey, and others, seeking enforcement of his right to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, and freedom of movement as guaranteed under Sections 34(1), 35(1), and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Court held that the arrest and detention of Eteidung Emem Denis Asikpo for five days without trial amounted to an infringement of his personal liberty under Section 35(1) and his freedom of movement under Section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It further held that the Police misused its powers, acting at the instigation of Udeme Eyo Asuquo.

The Court stated: “While the Police have a duty to investigate criminal complaints, this duty must be exercised judiciously and not be allowed to become an instrument for civil coercion.”

“Having considered the totality of the facts and circumstances of this case, and guided by relevant authorities and constitutional provisions, I find and hold that the complaint made by the 1st Respondent (Udeme Eyo Asuquo) to the Police was malicious and made without reasonable or probable cause.”

“A detention period of five days is clearly unconstitutional, being far beyond the 48-hour limit. No remand order was shown to exist, nor was any compelling justification offered by the Respondents. In my respectful view, this constitutes a grave and flagrant breach of the Applicant’s right to liberty guaranteed under Section 35 of the Constitution.”

“From the totality of the evidence and the law, it is clear that both the arrest and subsequent detention of the Applicant were unlawful. The arrest was effected without adherence to due process or reasonable suspicion supported by facts, while the detention exceeded the constitutional time limit without lawful justification. The actions of the Respondents, therefore, amounted to an arbitrary and unconstitutional violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights. Accordingly, this issue is resolved in favour of the Applicant,” the judge ruled.

The Court accordingly awarded N1 million in damages against Udeme Eyo Asuquo for violating the Applicant’s fundamental human rights and N2 million against Inspector David Etim and Fortune Bassey, jointly and severally, for violating the Applicant’s constitutional rights.

It also granted an injunction restraining the Respondents, their agents, and their servants from further harassing, intimidating, or threatening to arrest and detain the Applicant in connection with the subject matter of the case.