The Aro-Ibibio Wars were a series of conflicts between the Aro (Arochukwu) people (a subgroup of the Igbo) and the Ibibio people in what is now southeastern Nigeria, in the Ibom Kingdom, from 1630 to 1902. These wars led to the creation of the kingdom Arochukwu.
Before the arrival of the Igbo in the Aro area, a group of Proto-Ibibio migrated to the region and founded the Ibom Kingdom during the Bantu expansion. This Proto-Ibibio group came from Usak Edet (Isanguele), part of Ejagham in what is now southern Cameroon.
The Eze Agwu clan of Abiriba began Igbo migration to the region around the mid-17th century. The Ibibio clan welcomed everyone until some began to rebel against the ruling house. The Eze-Awgu group, which led the rebellion against the ruling family and was allied with several external forces such as the Nnachi priest of the Edda group near Afikpo, was overthrown by its Agwu king Inobia (Eze Agwu). Upon their arrival, Nnachi and Eze Agwu allied themselves with Prince Akakpokpo Okon of the Kingdom of Ibibio in the Kingdom of Ibom. Akakpokpo Okon was the son of the marriage between an Igbo woman of the Eze Agwu clan and the Obong Okon Ita king as part of an attempt to conclude a peace treaty related to the war between the Igbo subgroup and the Ibibios. The Eze Agwu/Nnachi faction decided to support Akakpokpo in his attempt to overthrow his brother, King Akpan Okon.
The coup encountered strong resistance and required even more help. Through Nnachi, the Eastern Cross River Group responded to a call for help. They were known as Akpa and lived in what is now Akwa Akpa before the Efik people arrived in the area. These warriors and traders may have had new European weapons in the area.
As allies of the Igbo, the Akpa were led by the Nnubi royal family. Osim and Akuma Nnubi led Akpa soldiers to help fight against the ruling house.Together with the Igbo forces and rebels, they fought against the forces of the Ibom Kingdom (1690). During the final battles, Osim Nnubi died in the city of Oror, making it the capital of Arochukwu.
At the end of the war, Osim and Akakpokpo were dead. To honor Osim’s legacy, his brother Akuma was crowned the first EzeAro (king). After his death, Nnachi’s descendants took the throne, starting with his first son, Oke Nnachi from which the Kingdom of Arochukwu was founded. Tensions between the Igbo settlers and the Ibibio natives led to the Aro-Ibibio Wars. The Efik originated from the Ibom Kingdom and may have left it before or during the Aro-Ibibio Wars. The war was initially in a stalemate and Eze Agwu’s group eventually invited a priest named Nnachi from the Edda clan in northeast Igboland.
Eze Agwu and Nnachi allied with Prince Akakpokpo Okon of the Ibom Kingdom. Akakpokpo Okon was the son of a marriage between Igbo women of the Eze Agwu clan and King Obong Okon Ita with the aim of concluding a peace treaty.The Eze Agwu/Nnachi faction decided to support Akakpokpo in his attempt to overthrow his brother, King Akpan Okon. Nnachi invited the Akpa people of Eastern Cross River.
Akpa troops led by Osim and Akuma Nnubi helped the rebel group conquer the rest of the area. This formed an alliance of 19 new and old states in the region known as the Arochukwu Kingdom between 1650 and 1700. The first king (or Eze Aro) of the Arochukwu Kingdom was Akuma, but after his death, Oke Nnachi, son of Nnachi, assumed power and his descendants still occupy the throne today.By the mid-18th century, the Arochukwu people had established many other communities within and outside Igboland. These migrations, the influence of their god Ibini Ukpabi through the priests and their military power supported by alliances with several neighboring militarized Igbo and Eastern Cross River states (notably Ohafia, Abam, Abiriba, Afikpo, Ekoi etc.) established quickly established the Confederacy of Aro as a regional economic power.
However, after the 20th century, Aro’s economic hegemony was threatened by the incursion of Europeans, mainly British settlers. Tensions eventually led to bloodshed and the Anglo-Arussian War lasted from 1901 to 1902.The Aro Confederacy put up stiff resistance but were ultimately defeated. This helped the British to occupy the rest of the area now known as Eastern Nigeria.
The Kingdom of Arochwuku was one of the most powerful in the Eastern Region, ruling the eastern territories for many centuries before being conquered by British forces.