Tension has engulfed Ikot Obong community in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State after a bitter land dispute led grieving relatives to abandon a man’s coffin at the residence of their village head.

The deceased, identified as Stephen Jacob Iboro, was a member of the Udobong Royal Family in Ikot Obong. According to family sources, he was to be buried on a parcel of land where he had reportedly lived for years, following a funeral service conducted by members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses at the Ikot Obong Village Council Hall.

Controversy erupted when the village head, Eteidung Obong Gordon Etukeren, allegedly objected to the burial on the property, insisting that the land belonged to him. Both men are said to come from the same Udobong Royal Family lineage, a factor that has further complicated the dispute.

Relatives explained that Iboro had no children, and the village head allegedly claimed he was entitled to inherit the land and other assets. Other members of the family strongly opposed this position, insisting that the property rightfully belonged to the deceased and should serve as his final resting place.

The Chief Mourner, Oliver Isaac Obot, told reporters that Iboro purchased the land about 13 years ago, built a house on it and lived there until his death. He said the family produced documents they claim prove ownership, but the village head allegedly refused to recognise them.

The matter was taken to the police headquarters at Ikot Akpan Abia, where both parties were invited for a meeting reportedly attended by the state Commissioner of Police. During that session, the village head is said to have signed an agreement allowing the burial to proceed on the disputed land.

However, in a dramatic turn, the village head allegedly obtained a court injunction stopping the burial on the eve of the interment, after funeral announcements had been made and programmes printed.

Despite the injunction, the funeral service went ahead at the council hall. When it came time for burial, the family, blocked from accessing the land, carried the coffin to the palace of Eteidung Obong Gordon Etukeren and left it there in protest.

The coffin remained at the village head’s residence as the community awaited further intervention from authorities and elders to resolve the impasse.