By WARRI – The oil city of Warri is teetering on the edge once more, as the bitter land and royalty disputes between the Itsekiri and Ogbe-Ijoh peoples flared up this week.
At the heart of the conflict is a press conference held by the Itsekiri leadership on Saturday, at the Olu of Warri Palace, where they accused the Ama-Okosu of Ogbe-Ijoh, HRM Monbene III, of pushing his territorial claims beyond legal limits.
For the Itsekiris, the latest provocation came in the form of coronation anniversary banners erected in Warri South LGA, which, they argue, belongs outside the monarch’s lawful domain.
Chief Brown Mene addressing journalists at the Olu’s palace on Saturday in Warri
They insist that multiple court rulings have long settled the matter, restricting Ogbe-Ijoh sovereignty to Warri South-West.
In a series of pointed demands read by the Ogwa-Olusan of Warri Kingdom flanked by ace lawyer, Chief Robinson Ariyo and other members of the Warri Traditional Council of Chiefs, the Itsekiri called on: HRM Monbene III to remove all banners and symbols of authority from Warri South immediately; Ogbe-Ijoh youths and supporters to desist from “further hooliganism and harassment.”
They called on the Delta State Government to establish a panel of inquiry and act against political sponsors of “ghost communities;”
The Iwere nation also urged the Inspector-General of Police and Chief of Army Staff to probe alleged military involvement and the links to a security firm, which, they further alleged, was complicit in recent killings;
In addition, the Itsekiri urged the Federal Government to review its policy of outsourcing security to private contractors with alleged ethnic agendas.
“The Ama-Okosu knows his domain lies in Warri South-West, not Warri South,” the statement read. “For peace to prevail, the law must be respected. Anything else is treason from within.”
But the Ijaw are not taking the accusations lightly. Chief Godspower Gbenekama, Fiowei of Gbaramatu Kingdom, who’s obviously fronting for Ogbe-Ijoh due to ethnic ties, on Thursday alleged that Itsekiris shot and injured four Ijaw youths, while accusing security agencies of colluding in the removal of Ogbe-Ijoh royal banners. To him, this amounted to a “desecration of the throne” and a dangerous provocation.
To douse the tension amid accusations of bias, ineptitude and lethargy, the Delta State Government, on Friday, inaugurated a peace committee to restore lasting harmony in Warri and its environs following the ongoing inter-ethnic hostilities in the oil-rich city.
The committee, comprising representatives of the Ijaw, Itsekiri, and Urhobo ethnic nationalities, was inaugurated by the Director-General of Security, Hon. David Tonwe, at the Government House Annex in Warri.
Hon. Tonwe, who outlined the committee’s terms of reference, urged members to engage their respective ethnic groups on the need to embrace peace, avoid provocative actions, unguided statements, and inflammatory social media posts capable of fuelling further crisis.
He explained that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had mandated him and his team to broker peace in the troubled areas, stressing that no meaningful development could thrive in an atmosphere of rancour and disunity.
“The problem before us is one of ethnic identity. It is your duty to ensure that the recent outbreak of hostilities becomes a thing of the past. Warri must move from conflict to peace and development,” Tonwe charged.
Chairman of the Inland and Waterways Committee, Chief Boro Pudu, stressed that no effort should be spared in ensuring that lasting peace is restored in Warri.
Similarly, Chairman of Warri South Local Government Council, Comrade Isaac Agbateyiniro, and his Warri South West counterpart, Hon. Sylvester Oromoni, commended Governor Oborevwori for his timely intervention, noting that the measures would prevent the crisis from snowballing into a larger conflict. Both pledged their full support for the committee’s work.
Representatives of the three major ethnic groups—Chief Sylvester Okumagba (Urhobo), Hon. Orueboh Oritsetimeyin (Itsekiri), and Hon. Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor (Ijaw)—also pledged to collaborate with the government and other stakeholders to restore peace to Warri.
They further appealed to individuals fanning the embers of division and violence to embrace dialogue and reconciliation for the good of the entire area.
The stand-off has, once again, exposed the deep scars of Warri’s history, where crises in the late 1990s and early 2000s left hundreds dead and paralysed Nigeria’s oil exports. With both sides trading accusations and the Oborevwori-led Delta State Government accused of “silence,” the risk of escalation looms large.
For Warri, the stakes are high: peace, commerce, and the fragile coexistence of its peoples.
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