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From Joe Obukata Ogbodu, Warri
The people of Okere Community in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, have called on Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, not to stand aloof over alleged incidents of land incursions in Warri, commercial hub of the state.
Specifically, the people urged the governor to halt what they described as illegal incursions of the Amakosu of Ogbe-Ijoh and some of his subjects, into Okere land in Warri South.
Coming under the auspices of Indigenous People of Okere, IPO, the people, at a press conference at Okere Community Hall in Warri, yesterday, held that anything less than upholding the rule of law “is complicity in the erosion of justice and peace.”
Addressing the media, spokesman of the community and member, Okere Elders’ Council, Hon. (Barr.) David Eyitemi Oki, called on Governor Oborevwori and all relevant authorities to act with courage, integrity and impartiality.
They alleged incursion of the Ijaws of Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri South-West Local Government Area, “into the territories of Warri South Local Government Area, particularly Okere community”.
According to the people, the situation is a brazen development that “threatens peaceful coexistence, the safety of lives and property, and the territorial integrity of the Itsekiri people.”
They stated: “The facts are clear and undisputed. For nearly a century, judicial pronouncements, have affirmed that the Ijaws have no land ownership rights in Warri urban or Warri South Local Government Area.
“In landmark rulings of 1928, 1956, and 1964, up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Itsekiri people were declared rightful owners of Warri lands, with the Ijaws perpetually barred from laying claim.
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“When the matter was reintroduced in 2013, the then Chief Judge of Delta State, Hon. Justice Marshall Umukoro, dismissed it outright, describing it as an attempt to re-litigate a settled Supreme Court judgment through the back door.
“We have seen criminal occupations and cultural incursions into areas such as Miller Waterside, Main Market, and Mciver Market, where some Ijaws, attempt to lay false claims. These actions, coupled with aggressive media propaganda, are deliberate attempts to extend Ijaw influence illegally into Warri South.
“Not an inch of our ancestral land will be surrendered. We are resolute in defending our heritage and territorial integrity.”
Another member of Okere Community Elders’ Council, Comr. Amaechi Ogbitse Ogbonna, who also spoke during the media engagement, asserted: “Ogbe-Ijoh does not exist in Warri South, but in Warri South-West.
“Delta State government is not encouraging peace. I said so, because they (the occupants of Miller Waterside) were settled, for them to go back to where they came from. That was why Delta State Government bought Chief Mabiaku’s Estate and took over the entire area, including the Central Hospital, Custom House, old Post Office, Marine Police area and Miller Brothers’ Road, where they are erroneously calling Tunde Smooth Road.
“The entire area called Old and New Port of NPA, G.R.A, Post Office and Catholic Church, belong to Okere Community.”
