From Joseph Obukata, Warri
President-general of Ozoro community, Chief Daniel Miller Akpoili, has called on the Delta State government to expedite action on the implementation of the recommendations of the white paper on the report of the judicial commission of inquiry into the boundary dispute between Ozoro and Oleh communities, so as to avert looming crisis in the area.
He made the call during a press briefing at his office in Ozoro, headquarters of Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, while condemning a recent violent attack on indigenes of Ozoro by persons allegedly from Oleh.
Akpoili expressed fear that peace between the two communities could be threatened, if immediate and decisive steps were not taken by Delta State government and law enforcement agencies to nip the new phase of violence in the bud.
Akpoili said the implementation of the recommendations was the panacea to the lingering Ozoro/Oleh boundary dispute, lamenting that the recurring violent attacks on the people of Ozoro, allegedly by irate Oleh persons, was becoming unbearable.
Narrating a recent violent attack on the people of his community, he said: “The most recent of the violent acts perpetrated against the people of Ozoro community happened on June 12, 2023. It was an unprovoked attack that caused pandemonium in the community. The attack was not unconnected with the ongoing execution of a community development project, creating of access roads in Ozoro, by the Ozoro community.
“On that fateful day, while an earthmoving machine was working on the ongoing project around the Ozoro end of the ‘disputed boundary,’ a group of persons armed with cutlasses and guns chased the Ozoro people working on the road project away and seized their motorcycles, including the diesel at the site.”
According to Akpoili, the sad development caused pandemonium and created panic in the community. He described the development as unfortunate, stating that the people of Ozoro had been resolute towards sustaining peaceful coexistence with their neighbours, adding that they would continue to fulfill that obligation to ensure peace is not tampered with.
Akpoili further said: “Ozoro people are law-abiding and would totally obey the recommendations of the white paper in order to foster peaceful coexistence among the indigenes of both communities.
“The white paper recommended and approved a demarcation of the area in dispute between Ozoro and Oleh and it was also saliently captured in the demarcation map that accompanied the white paper.
“We, the Ozoro people, have studied the white paper and would abide by its recommendations to the letter. We’ll never contravene the directives of the white paper, hence we chose to conduct ourselves peacefully to ensure that peace reigns.
“While we remain law-abiding, we passionately call on the Delta State government and other relevant agencies and stakeholders to take urgent action and implement the recommendations of the white paper without wasting further time.”
Stressing that the peace between the two communities was endangered in recent times, he wondered why the people of Oleh would not abide by the recommendations of the white paper and subscribe to peace.
He said: “We have maintained commendable silence in the face of the aggressive tendencies of the people of Oleh community, and we have never written any petition against anybody or instigated any arrest of persons.
“Regrettably, the reverse is the case in the way and manner the people of Oleh conduct themselves. Rather than toeing the path of peace, they have resorted to perpetrating violence by continually dispensing their energy and time writing petitions against the people of Ozoro community, which oftentimes resulted in invitation of members of Ozoro community by the law enforcement agencies.
“We stand for peace; we are not prepared for any war neither are we saying that we should be killed by anyone or be driven out of our land or community.
“Our message is, we need peaceful coexistence of both communities. It has become an embarrassment to us to face the barrage of petitions, coupled with invitations from police.
“Just last week, l received a letter from Zone 5 concerning petitions written against our people by persons from Oleh community.”