No fewer than 10 people, including councillors, a journalist and a cameraman, were reportedly injured on Thursday after armed hoodlums allegedly disrupted a meeting of councillors in Ini Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
The incident occurred at Odoro Ikpe, the headquarters of the local government area, during a meeting convened by aggrieved councillors seeking to scrutinise the council’s financial records amid allegations of financial irregularities and lack of accountability against the council chairman, Hon. Inibehe Umah.
The councillors alleged that the chairman had consistently refused to provide details of the council’s income and expenditure and had also withheld statutory funds and allowances due to members of the legislative council.
Speaking at the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council, where they briefed journalists after the incident, the lawmakers accused the chairman of running the council without transparency since assuming office in October 2024.
“The chairman lacks the virtues of accountability and openness. He has abused office since coming into power,” the councillors alleged.
According to them, governance activities in the council are largely limited to social media publicity rather than actual service delivery.
“The chairman runs Ini Local Government Council alone and only functions on the pages of social media, Facebook and WhatsApp. If you come to the council, nothing is happening,” they claimed.
Leader of the Legislative Council, Mr. Donald Usoroh, who sustained injuries to his leg during the incident, alleged that the chairman stormed the legislative chamber with dozens of hired thugs who attacked councillors during plenary.
Surrounded by seven other councillors out of the 11-member council, Usoroh said the lawmakers were assaulted while attempting to carry out their constitutional oversight responsibilities.
“Today is a sad day for democracy in Ini Local Government Area and for legislators across Nigeria,” he said.
Referring to the council’s by-laws, Usoroh explained that the legislative council is empowered to examine and debate monthly statements of income and expenditure submitted by the chairman.
“Section 28, subsection C, says the legislator is mandated to examine and debate the monthly statement of incomes and expenditures tendered by the chairman of the local government council,” he stated.
“Section F says they also have the powers to exercise such oversight functions as may enhance the smooth running of the council. Sadly, in Ini Local Government, since we came on board on October 9, 2024, the Local Government Chairman, Mr. Inibehe Umah, has refused us to exercise these legislative powers.”
Usoroh said the councillors had, on June 2, 2026, formally invited the chairman through the council clerk to appear before the legislative council and present details of the council’s finances covering a one-year period.
According to him, rather than honour the invitation, the chairman allegedly mobilised hoodlums to disrupt the legislative session.
“Sadly, when we went there today for our plenary, which we usually have every Tuesday, the chairman, Mr. Inibehe Umah, mobilised over 100 thugs to come and harass us, beat us and desecrate our chambers,” he alleged.
The council leader further claimed that several councillors sustained varying degrees of injuries during the attack, while mobile phones belonging to lawmakers were damaged.
He also alleged that two cameras belonging to a local journalist were seized and that both the journalist and his cameraman were assaulted during the incident.
The lawmakers appealed to Governor Umo Eno to intervene and call the council chairman to order in order to prevent further escalation of the crisis.
They warned that continued tension within the council could undermine peace and democratic governance in the local government area.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of Chairman Inibehe Umah were unsuccessful, as his telephone line was switched off at the time of filing this report.
The allegations could not be independently verified, and the council chairman had yet to respond to the claims as of press time.
