The Ibom Isi also known as the
Akpa are one of the three main lineages comprising the
Aro people
The Aro people or Aros are an Igbo group that originated from the Arochukwu kingdom in present-day Abia state, Nigeria. The Aros can also be found in about 250 other settlements mostly in the Southeastern Nigeria and adjacent areas. The Aros tod ...
. They are centered in
Ibom,
Arochukwu
Arochukwu Local Government Area, sometimes referred to as Arochuku or Aro Oke igbo is the third largest local government area in Abia State (after Aba and Umuahia) in southeastern Nigeria and homeland of the Igbo subgroup, Aro people.
It ...
in
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. The Akpa are descendants of the
Ejagham in present day
Cross River State
Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...
in Southeastern Nigeria.
During the
Aro-Ibibio Wars
The Aro-Ibibio Wars were a series of conflicts between the Aro people (subgroup of the Igbo) and the Obong Okon Ita clan in present-day Southeastern Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Afri ...
in present-day
Arochukwu
Arochukwu Local Government Area, sometimes referred to as Arochuku or Aro Oke igbo is the third largest local government area in Abia State (after Aba and Umuahia) in southeastern Nigeria and homeland of the Igbo subgroup, Aro people.
It ...
in the 1600s, an
Igbo leader named
Okennachi Oke Nnachi was the son of Nnachi and possibly introduced the idea of bringing Akpa troops to help the Eze Agwu, Nnachi clan, and Obong Okon Ita rebels during the Aro-Ibibio Wars. After the short dynasty of Osim and Akuma Nnubi of Akuma, Oke Nnachi ...
(the first Igbo ''EzeAro''), invited his allies the princes
Osim and Akuma Nnubi from the east of the Cross River to fight against a clan of the
Ibibios and granting them lands. The Nnubis, led their people known as the Akpa to present-day Arochukwu. They led the Akpa forces to ally with Igbo forces. Osim Nnubi died in the battle, the war between Aros and the northern clan of the Ibibios ended in a stalemate. Akuma became the first ''EzeAro'' or king. The Akpa people were assimilated and are mainly in Ibom, and other towns belonging to the Ibom Isi kindred.
References
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070505044829/http://www.aronewsonline.org/html/history_culture.html
*http://people.bu.edu/manfredi/Contours.pdf
*History of Africa from earliest times to 1800 Volume 1 by Harry A. Gailey Jr.
Aros
Ekoi
{{Nigeria-ethno-group-stub