A public policy advocacy group, Open Forum Care for Humanity Foundation, has urged the Akwa Ibom State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria to establish a comprehensive victim-centred policy that guarantees justice, empathy and structured support for victims of crime, terrorism, disasters and abuse of power.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its Founder and President, Citizen Matthew Koffi Okono (MKO), the organisation decried what it called a pattern of “selective and random benevolence” in government responses. According to the group, while some victims are abandoned, certain perpetrators of violence end up receiving state sympathy, rehabilitation or empowerment.
The Foundation warned that rising violence, extremism, criminal activities and recurring disasters have left numerous families grappling with death, disabilities and long-term emotional and economic trauma. Yet, it said, there is no official framework to guide government intervention, resulting in inconsistent and often unjust outcomes across Akwa Ibom and the country.
To underscore the urgency, Open Forum highlighted several cases. One is the January 31, 2010 attack on the Qua Iboe Church in Iwok, Nsit Atai LGA, where two women, Mrs. Lucy Sylvester Ekpo and Deaconess Grace Samuel Ekpo, were killed during an attempted kidnap of the late Maj.-Gen. Edet Akpan (rtd). While the general received full state support, the group said the victims’ families were left with only burial assistance and no further help.
The statement also referenced the October 2017 attack in Ukanafun and Etim Ekpo LGAs, where siblings Inibehe and Emasema Idiong were shot by militants. Open Forum lamented that although the attackers were later granted amnesty and empowerment, the victims received no assistance. Inibehe eventually died from untreated complications, while Emasema struggled through university with permanent injuries.
Another cited incident is the July 14, 2018 assault on the palace of the Group Head of Ibedu in Nsit Atai LGA, His Highness Obong Akpan Douglas Ekott, during which two people were killed and the palace vandalised. The group said repeated calls for investigation and justice were ignored.
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However, Open Forum acknowledged commendable state intervention in cases such as the 2021 rape and murder of Iniubong Umoren and the 2024 retrieval and reburial of Nollywood makeup artist Abigail Edith Frederick, where the government provided compensation, housing and employment support to the families.
In contrast, it noted the May 12, 2021 murder of 22-year-old Ephraim Edet Okon in Nsit Atai, where despite the perpetrator’s conviction and death sentence, the victim’s family received no condolence visit or government assistance despite their deteriorating economic situation.
The NGO further reminded the Akwa Ibom government of its unfulfilled promise of automatic employment to 11 Akwa Ibom indigenes kidnapped in Zamfara as NYSC members in 2023, a commitment reportedly made in 2024.
Open Forum also criticised the practice of rehabilitating terrorists, cultists and violent offenders while neglecting their victims, many of whom remain in IDP camps or struggle without meaningful support. It warned that the lack of a structured victim-support framework enables perpetrators to manipulate the system, intimidate victims and even present themselves as victims to gain government sympathy.
The group argued that a victim-centred policy would ensure fairness, standardise government responses and align Akwa Ibom with global human rights standards, including the UN Declaration of Basic Principles for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. It also referenced the Akwa Ibom State Cultism and Other Violent Behaviour Prohibition Order of 2018, noting that justice must include not only punishing offenders but also supporting victims.
Concluding, the Foundation lamented that countless other victims have suffered or died quietly due to the absence of clear policy direction. It urged Governor Umo Eno and the federal government to institutionalise compassion, strengthen justice delivery mechanisms and prioritise victims over perpetrators.
Open Forum reaffirmed its commitment to serving as “an ideas bank for development, state and nation-building,” and as a steadfast voice for the voiceless, calling for a comprehensive victim-centred policy that advances justice, equity and humanity.
