WARRI — The Indigenous People of Okere (IPO), Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, have raised alarm over what they described as illegal incursions by the Amakosu of Ogbe-Ijoh and some of his subjects into Okere land.
The community, through its Elders’ Council, called on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to urgently intervene and halt the alleged encroachments, warning that failure to act would amount to “complicity in the erosion of justice and peace.”
Addressing journalists in Warri on Tuesday, David Eyitemi Oki, spokesperson and member of the Okere Elders’ Council, said the Ijaws of Ogbe-Ijoh in Warri South-West were making unlawful advances into territories belonging to Warri South, particularly Okere community.
“This brazen development threatens peaceful coexistence, the safety of lives and property, and the territorial integrity of the Itsekiri people,” Oki declared.
He stressed that judicial pronouncements dating back nearly a century — including landmark rulings in 1928, 1956, and 1964 up to the Supreme Court — had affirmed that the Itsekiri are rightful owners of Warri lands, with the Ijaws permanently barred from laying claims. He added that a 2013 case was dismissed by the then Chief Judge of Delta State, Hon. Justice Marshall Umukoro, as an attempt to re-litigate an already settled Supreme Court judgment.
Oki accused some Ijaw groups of “criminal occupations and cultural incursions” in areas such as Miller Waterside, Main Market, and Mciver Market, coupled with media propaganda aimed at illegally extending influence into Warri South.
“Not an inch of our ancestral land will be surrendered. We are resolute in defending our heritage and territorial integrity,” he vowed.
Also speaking, another member of the Okere Elders’ Council, Comrade Amaechi Ogbitse Ogbonna, insisted that Ogbe-Ijoh “does not exist in Warri South, but in Warri South-West,” accusing the Delta State government of failing to enforce peace agreements.
According to Ogbonna, the state government had previously resettled the occupants of Miller Waterside by acquiring Chief Mabiaku’s Estate, which included areas such as the Central Hospital, Custom House, old Post Office, Marine Police zone, and Miller Brothers’ Road.
“The entire area known as Old and New Port of NPA, G.R.A, Post Office, and Catholic Church belong to Okere community,” Ogbonna emphasized.
The Okere leaders urged the state government and relevant authorities to act decisively with “courage, integrity, and impartiality” to protect the Itsekiri people and preserve peace in Warri.
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