PRESS RELEASE!

MILITARISING EXTINCTION: PEER FOUNDATION AND HOST COMMUNITIES CONDEMN PROPOSED NAVAL BASE IN STUBBS CREEK FOREST RESERVE, DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE END TO ECO-DESTRUCTION UNDER THE GUISE OF BUILDING SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE 

UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE | OCTOBER 26, 2026 — Peer Foundation, in solidarity with environmental justice advocates and the indigenous host communities of Eket and Esit Eket Local Government Areas, utterly rejects and condemns the recent announcement by the Akwa Ibom State Government and the Federal Government to establish a Naval Base within the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.

This move is not a security strategy; it is a calculated, hostile Trojan horse designed to forcefully evict local communities, silence legitimate dissent, and permanently lock in the ecocide of Akwa Ibom’s last remaining biodiversity sanctuary for commercial petroleum exploitation.

For years, our communities have watched the systematic, state-sponsored destruction of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve. Under the deceptive banner of "infrastructure and development," governments have repeatedly violated environmental laws, fragmented critical ecosystems with invasive road networks, and licensed a petroleum refinery directly inside a protected zone. The sudden Friday announcement to establish a Naval Base is the final step in a playbook of securitisation for land grabbing—using the military to guard corporate polluters, bypass Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), and violently displace the indigenous peoples who have sustainably managed this forest for generations.

From a standpoint of climate justice and ecosystem restoration, this state-backed onslaught must stop immediately due to the following critical impacts:

Complete Absence of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC): The proposal to establish this Naval Base was drafted behind closed doors, completely shutting out the host communities of Eket and Esit Eket LGAs. By deliberately refusing to conduct community consultations, the government has treated indigenous landowners as non-entities on their own ancestral soil. Decisions regarding our environment cannot be handed down as military decrees.

Severe Consequences of Top-Down Militarisation: Forcing a military installation into an unconsented community creates an immediate recipe for friction. This lack of consultation will inevitably trigger deep-seated mistrust, escalate local tensions, and destroy the social cohesion between the civilian population and the armed forces. Instead of providing safety, it turns a peaceful community zone into a highly volatile flashpoint of conflict.

Weaponising Security for Fossil Fuel Expansion: The positioning of a Naval Base between Eket and Esit Eket is a blatant attempt to establish an armed perimeter around corporate interests. It serves to protect a carbon-heavy refinery at a time when the world demands an urgent, just transition away from fossil fuels. It is a direct assault on climate justice, forcing frontline communities to bear the toxic brunt of pollution while under military surveillance.

The Final Death Blow to a Critical Carbon Sink: Stubbs Creek is not a vacant plot of land waiting for concrete and artillery; it is a vital carbon sink, a shoreline protector, and a refuge for endangered flora and fauna. Flattening this forest for military infrastructure releases massive amounts of stored carbon, directly accelerating the climate crisis and stripping Akwa Ibom State of its natural defense against rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

Human Rights Violations and Community Displacement: The host communities of Eket and Esit Eket rely on this forest for their livelihoods, medicine, and cultural heritage. Using military presence to intimidate, restrict access, and evict local populations is a flagrant violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Real security comes from ecological stability, food sovereignty, and economic justice—not gunboats and barracks.

Subverting the Rule of Law: By hiding behind "national security," the government is attempting to bypass mandatory public consultations and independent environmental audits. We state categorically: National security cannot exist at the expense of ecological survival.

We refuse to stand by while our ancestral heritage is traded for short-term corporate greed and environmental destruction. We demand that the Akwa Ibom State Government and the Federal Government immediately rescind the decision to place a Naval Base in Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.

Instead of further militarisation, Peer Foundation demands an immediate halt to all industrial activities within the reserve, the withdrawal of destructive refinery plans, and the commencement of a community-led ecosystem restoration agenda to heal this vital sanctuary.

Our forest is our life. Our ecosystem is our security. We will resist this eco-fascism with every legal and peaceful tool at our disposal.

Signed:

Mfon Gabriel, Executive Director, Peer Foundation

Glory Akpan

Programmes Officer, Peer Foundation