Pat Akpabio, a sister-in-law to the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has resuscitated the controversy surrounding the many unresolved killings that occurred in Akwa Ibom State when Mr Akpabio was governor of the state.

“For all the people you people have killed when you were the governor (of Akwa Ibom) and those you people have killed now that you are in the Senate, it will never be well with you,” Pat said angrily to Mr Akpabio in a Facebook video she posted on 11 October.

Pat, a pastor and a businesswoman, is married to Mr Akpabio’s brother, Ibanga, who reportedly brought Mr Akpabio from Lagos to Uyo around 1999 and nominated him for the appointment as commissioner in then-Governor Victor Attah’s cabinet, where he grew politically and later became the third civilian governor of Akwa Ibom in 2007. He was elected on the PDP platform.

Many in Akwa Ibom saw Ibanga at the time as the power behind Mr Akpabio’s sudden rise in Akwa Ibom politics.

When Mr Akpabio became governor, he used his influence to get Ibanga elected as the PDP secretary in the oil-rich state.

Many of Mr Akpabio’s relatives, including Ibanga, became powerful and exerted much political influence in the state. They were commonly called the Ukana Ikot Ntuen Cabal, named after Mr Akpabio’s hometown in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Many of them also suddenly became wealthy.

The political influence of the once-powerful family began to fade soon after Mr Akpabio completed his second term as governor in 2015.

A crack was noticed in the family in 2023 when Ibanga openly supported Mr Akp