Uyo Schools Hold Peace Summit to Tackle Student Violence

Five secondary schools in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, have come together for a peace summit. The aim is to promote peaceful living and deal with fights, cultism, and other forms of violence among students.

The first summit took place on Wednesday. It was hosted by the Principal of Community Comprehensive Secondary School, Four Towns, Uko Udo. Students, school leaders, security officials, and community heads were all present.

The schools involved were Community Comprehensive Secondary School, Four Towns; West Itam Secondary School, Ekit Itam II; Community Secondary Commercial School, Ikot Oku Ubo; Secondary School, Offot Ukwa; and Community Secondary School, Aka Offot.

Details about the event were shared on Facebook on Wednesday.

But three schools, Uyo High School, Christian Secondary Commercial School, and Government Technical School, Ewet Offot, known for their fights, did not take part in the summit.

These three schools have had ongoing clashes among students, likely because they are close to each other.

An official who attended the summit but did not want to be named said the initiative was meant to bring together public secondary schools in Uyo to solve the problem of recurring fights.

The official saw the initiative as positive and mentioned it would be held at different schools. "The peace summit is going to rotate among the participating schools. Next year it will be hosted in Community Secondary School, Aka Offot," the official said.

A statement from the host school’s media team said the summit included goodwill messages from education officials, security agents, community leaders, and youth representatives.

Speakers at the event included Okwuzulike Vincent, the divisional police officer of ‘D’ Division, Itam; Effiong Tom, permanent secretary of the State Secondary Education Board; and Joseph Udo, the zonal director of education in Uyo.

Village heads from Effiat Offot and Atan Offot were also there, alongside principals and representatives from parent-teacher associations.

The speakers talked about the need for tolerance, discipline, and togetherness for peaceful living among students.

Torobong Obot, president of the National Association of Akwa Ibom State Students, urged students to avoid cultism, gangsterism, and other bad behaviors.

She warned that cultism could ruin young people's futures and bring shame to their families and schools.

This summit comes during a time of worries about violence, cultism, and bad behavior in Akwa Ibom’s secondary schools.

In February 2020, the state government closed a secondary school after a violent protest led to arrests.

That same month, Akwa Ibom lawmakers expressed their worries about cultism in schools. One lawmaker said teenagers were carrying axes instead of books.

More recently, in September 2026, the state Ministry of Education stopped three students from getting admission into any school due to attacks on teachers and staff.

The organizers of the peace summit believe that bringing students from different schools together can help reduce fights and promote communication.

The plan to rotate the event could create a space for ongoing discussions among schools. But the absence of the three schools from the first meeting raises questions about how effective this effort will be.