Land Dispute: Anything less than rule of law erodes peace – Okere community to Gov Oborevwori
Okere Community in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, known as the Indigenous People of Okere, IPO, have called on Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, to halt the alleged illegal incursions of the Amakosu of Ogbe-Ijoh and some of his subjects, into Okere land.
The community insists that anything less than upholding the rule of law by the Governor, “is complicity in the erosion of justice and peace.”
The Community spokes person and member, Okere Elders’ Council, David Eyitemi Oki, made the call at a press conference on Tuesday, in Warri.
On-behalf of the community, he called on the governor and relevant authorities to act with courage, integrity and impartiality.
According to Oki, 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”, is a brazen development that “threatens peaceful coexistence, the safety of lives and property, and the territorial integrity of the Itsekiri people.”
“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.
“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,” they maintained.
