The Women War Memorial Museum in Ikot Abasi is a lasting relic that tells the correct story about the 1929 Women Riot which originated from Ukam Market in Ikot Abasi where women gathered to protest against a colonial policy which imposed taxes on them for domestic animals, household utensils, etc.
What started as a non-violent protest became an unfair battle as the women were shot by the colonial policemen and some of them drowned in the adjoining river during the melee.
The sculpture outside the museum was made in honour of Madam Udo Udoma (the mother of the late legal luminary Sir Egbert Udo Udoma) who wrestled and seized a gun from a colonial policeman and broke it into two. The museum also houses the roll call of women who lost their lives in the war. Close to the waterfront in Ikot Abasi is a mock grave of women who died in the protest. It’s about one (1) hour drive from the city centre of Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State.