Nigeria, Jan. 21 -- Some documents, including Akwa Ibom State Government memos, posted recently on Facebook have contradicted Governor Umo Eno administration's position that the disputed Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve belongs exclusively to the state government.

The memos, dated 1998, appear to support the Ekid people's claim that they are the original owners of part of the forest.

The memos relate to compensation paid to Ekid communities-referred to as Edo Group of Villages-for land acquired for the expansion of the Mobil Producing Nigeria Qua Iboe Terminal.

In a letter dated 17 February 1998, the then commissioner for agriculture in Akwa Ibom informed the state's military administrator that the Edo Group of Villages were "original land ...