Mr. Sunny Amorighoye Mene is the Secretary of apex Itsekiri socio-cultural body, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought. In this interview with Shola O’Neil, explained why the FG and Delta State government are responsible for perceived spike in violence against his ethnic group, why the group are against the INEC ward exercise in Warri. EXCERPTS
On the brewing crisis in Warri:
The headquarters of Warri South-West Local Government Area was relocated from Ogidigben, its statutory location, to Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw community. To date, official federal documents still list Ogidigben as the headquarters. However, the Delta State Government and House of Assembly amended the Federal Act to relocate it, and it has remained so, albeit illegally.
When the government granted amnesty to those involved in the Warri crisis, it gave them economic benefits without addressing the criminal aspects of the conflict. That blanket amnesty created the impression that might is right and criminality pays because one man confronted the Federal Government through acts of brigandage and violence, shutting down the area, killing people, and committing heinous crimes.
The Ijaws often threaten mayhem and war, believing that violence can once again bring them advantage. This remains one of the major issues fuelling the current situation in Warri. Now, the Urhobos are trying to leverage the same advantage. They joined forces with the Ijaws during the crisis and now seek to benefit as the Ijaws have done.The two groups believe they can use their demographic strength in Delta State to suppress the Itsekiri in their own homeland.
There’s also a growing issue of territorial expansionism in defiance of the rule of law. Every inch of land in Warri territory has been litigated, and judgments exist. Yet, people are now twisting or disregarding these rulings to pursue territorial claims.
Some believe their might is right because of the patronage they enjoy from government and oil companies. They see the Itsekiri as weak in numbers and military strength and therefore try to use force against them.
On Ward Delineation: Why are Itsekiris Afraid?
We (Itsekiris) were apprehensive about INEC’s ward delineation from the start because the commission failed to obey an Appeal Court judgment on the 10 – 12 ward structure for over 20 years.
When wards were initially delineated nationwide, Warri South, Warri South-West, and Warri North each had 10 wards. But INEC later re-delineated Warri South into 12 wards. Under the 10-ward system, the Itsekiri had eight wards and the Urhobo had two. INEC’s new delineation reduced Itsekiri representation to six, effectively transferring many Itsekiri units to Urhobo-dominated areas, shrinking Itsekiri influence and expanding Urhobo control.
Chief Joseph Otumara and others challenged this illegal act in court and won. The court declared INEC’s action null and void, directing it to revert to the 10-ward structure. That judgment, now over 25 years old, remains unimplemented. So, when this new delineation exercise began, our apprehension was justified. The same INEC that ignored a lawful judgment for decades cannot be trusted to treat us fairly now.
Can Itsekiri Distrust halt a Supreme Court Judgment?
We know it cannot. We are not opposed to enforcing the Supreme Court judgment, even though we disagree with the initial claims made at the lower court that the existing polling units and wards in Warri Federal Constituency are fake and fictitious.
We are not against compliance with the judgment, but INEC must follow due process. Before implementation, we asked INEC to ensure neutrality and objectivity by removing Prof. Rhoda Gumus, an Ijaw, in the committee. She had previously handled a related case. It violates natural justice for her and other Ijaw elements within INEC to participate. We asked that she recused herself. INEC ignored our request and proceeded with Prof. Gumus leading the process. We believe this has compromised the outcome.
When we noticed these irregularities, we sought an audience with the INEC Chairman, knowing he had met with Ijaw and Urhobo representatives twice. Despite several letters, our requests were ignored.
INEC must comply with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. These laws clearly outline how wards and polling units should be created. Section 20 (i) and (ii) of the Electoral Act states that delineation must rely on the voters’ register, not arbitrary data, not Google Maps, and certainly not ethnic profiling.
INEC has no authority to conduct its own population census or to determine ethnic majority in any area. It also cannot create polling units without registered voters, as it did in some Ijaw and Urhobo areas.
INEC must also adhere to its own criteria and guidelines for creating polling units and wards. In Warri North, INEC illegally extended coordinates into Ondo State, and in Warri Federal Constituency, it brought coordinates from Burutu LGA.
Ijaws Say the Exercise is purely about population, now land ownership
We never brought land ownership into the matter, INEC did. In its compiled list of communities, INEC inserted fictitious Ijaw and Urhobo settlements that do not exist. By doing so, it introduced ethnicity into an exercise that should be purely administrative. The voter register contains no ethnic classifications.
In Warri South, INEC created three so-called “Ijaw wards” in areas where the Ijaw have no presence, inventing places like Buruama and Ewein. This was a deliberate attempt to help the Ijaw lay claim to Itsekiri territories. INEC was heavily compromised and induced. I stated this clearly in the office of the National Security Adviser. Those who undermined the integrity of this exercise should be arrested, investigated, and, if found guilty, punished to serve as a deterrent to others.
Anyone who examines this case objectively will see the truth. INEC overstepped its boundaries, acting as if it were the NPC, Boundary Adjustment Commission, and even a legislative body empowered to create communities and local governments.
Ogbe-Ijoh Lands in Warri Metropolis
There are very clear judgments, some of which went all the way to the Supreme Court, stating that the Ijaws do not own any land in Warri metropolis. The courts have also barred any Ijaw individual from challenging the Itsekiris on land ownership in Warri.
In a more recent judgment delivered by Justice Mukoro Marshall a former Chief Judge of Delta State, in suit No We/277/2012, the position of the Supreme Court was reaffirmed that the Ijaw cannot contest ownership of land in Warri. The matter is foreclosed.
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Therefore, it is baffling that INEC would wake up and begin to act as a court of law by declaring that the Ijaws have land in Warri and even proceed to create three new wards for them, on what legal basis?
In the Warri urban area, there were three principal leases that the colonial authorities used in creating Warri Urban; the leases of 1906, 1908, and 1911. The lessor in all three was Chief Dore Numa, acting on behalf of the Itsekiri people. These leases have since been returned to the Itsekiri Land Trust – the original and rightful owners of the land. We have certified copies of all the relevant documents.
The very word Warri, contrary to what anyone may claim, is a corruption of Iwere, (the Itsekiri word for their homeland). We are not saying there are no Ijaws or Urhobos living among us. We all coexist in Warri and desire peace, but peace cannot mean surrendering what rightly belongs to us. We cannot allow anyone to take over our ancestral lands under any pretext.
On Ijaw landmarks in Warri South – Ogbe-Ijoh Market and other areas
The Ogbe-Ijoh Market is merely a name, a nomenclature, just like you have Ibo Market in the same Warri. Does that mean the Igbos own that land? There’s Oku-Isoko in Effurun, do the Isoko people claim it as theirs? There is Dauda (named after a Yoruba), Alders Town, do these names confer ownership? These names were simply derived from people or tribes associated with the area at some point, but they have no title to the land.
The Ogbe-Ijoh people went to court to claim ownership of that market, and they lost. So, what next? Does their loss in court mean nothing? Should they now resort to lawlessness and brigandage to achieve what the courts have denied them? That is precisely what we are witnessing; attempts to create confusion and provoke conflict despite subsisting court judgments.
On Ijaw, Urhobo Court Victories on Warri Land
They do not have. Let them bring forward the judgments they claim to have. I challenge them. We are talking about documented, verifiable court rulings, not propaganda.
On Claims Itsekiri Warrant Chief Manipulated Treaties with Colonialists
That is a very shallow and uninformed argument. We have the actual documents, the leases, the court judgments, and nowhere did Dore Numa sign as an agent for anyone other than the Itsekiri. Those making these allegations probably haven’t even seen the documents they are talking about.
Each of those leases explicitly states that Dore Numa signed on behalf of the Itsekiri people – the owners of the land. The Warri Urban area, as it exists today, was created from those three leases of 1906, 1908, and 1911. That was why, in 1959, the colonial authorities returned the lands to the Itsekiri Land Trust because the Itsekiri were the lessors, the original owners.
Those lands were acquired to create the Warri Township, and it wasn’t just Dore Numa who signed. Others, like Chief Ogbe and other notable Itsekiri nobles, also signed those documents, giving out those lands as Crown Lands.
When the colonial masters were preparing to leave at independence, they returned the leases to their original owners – the Itsekiri Communal Land Trust. The same procedure was followed in Benin, Sapele and other areas.
The deed of release stated that some portions of land, such as the Warri General Hospital, the Naval Base, the Police Station, the Court premises, and similar public facilities, would remain under government use. But all other lands, including those housing markets, private companies, and residences, were released to the Itsekiri Land Trust.
Under the deed of mandate, the Trust was instructed to issue fresh leases to individuals or companies with unexpired leases. This was duly carried out by the Itsekiri Communal Land Trust. We have certified true copies of all these deeds, and they are available in government records. If the Ogbe-Ijoh people or anyone else had genuine documents, why didn’t they tender them in court when they challenged the Itsekiris, and lost?
You must separate facts from propaganda. The Itsekiri position is grounded in law and documented evidence. What others have are sentimental and political arguments, not legal ones.
In our memorandum to the National Security Adviser, we listed all the relevant cases and judgments. Those currently occupying parts of these lands have no valid documents proving ownership. Their occupation doesn’t confer title; the law is clear on that.
On Calls to Change Olu of Warri to Olu of Itsekiri
Let’s be very clear: the Urhobos and the Ijaws are settlers within the Warri Federal Constituency where the Olu of Warri is the traditional overlord. Unfortunately, government policies and political considerations have worsened these conflicts. The Agbassa people, for instance, cannot claim to have a kingdom. Any community that did not have a kingdom before Nigeria became a republic in 1960 cannot suddenly declare one. The same goes for Okere, it is not a kingdom.
On Urhobo legal Victory on Warri Land
This is being twisted. In Dudu vs. Daniel Okumagba, Justice Ekeruche made it clear that the case did not address radical ownership. It only recognized possessory rights, which means the right to farm and occupy land given by another. How can they now suddenly have a kingdom there?
Okere (Warri) has six quarters. Five of them are Itsekiri quarters, and only one (Idumu-Sobo), is Urhobo. The Urhobos came in as in-laws to the Okere people, who gave them land for farming. They planted rubber trees on the land, and over time, that became their area of residence. But to now turn that into a “kingdom” is historically and legally baseless.
The latest trend of converting clan structures into kingdoms is dangerous. If the government doesn’t stop this illegality, in 10 or 15 years, Nigeria will have over 3,000 so-called kingdoms. Historically and officially, Agbassa, Gbaramatu, and Ogbe-Ijoh are clans, not kingdoms.
For the Olu of Warri, Chief Obafemi Awolowo did not change it. It was Olu of Warri from time. After the 88-year interregnum in Warri Kingdom, when Ginuwa II was to be crowned in 1936, the Urhobos resisted, arguing that since then Warri Province (included Urhobo land, which now sits in 8 LGA, Ijaws in current three LGAs and other areas up to Kwale), the title would make him overlord. To avoid conflict, he was crowned Olu of Itsekiri.
When Ginuwa II died in 1949, and Erejuwa II was to be crowned, the matter resurfaced. By then, the Warri Province was under the Western Regional Government. The debate reached the parliament in Ibadan. After due consideration, and the Warri Province had been renamed Delta Province, Erejuwa II was crowned Olu of Warri, restoring the title to its historical and rightful form.
The Urhobo Progressive Union petitioned the Secretary of the Colonies, but investigations confirmed that Olu of Warri was the correct title, with the Warri Province then covering just the the present Warri Federal Constituency. These are verifiable historical facts.
The Ijaws cannot have a Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom. It simply doesn’t make sense. Warri is Itsekiri land, and Ogbe-Ijoh is Ijaw. You can’t dislike the Itsekiris yet covet their land, name, and heritage.
The Urhobos often raise such issues when their kinsman is governor. But the current governor has rightly distanced himself from it; he’s the governor of all Deltans, not just the Urhobos.
Recipe for Peace Coexistence
We must all learn to live in peace. My wife is Urhobo, from the Ekwerre family in Agbarho, Ughelli North. All my children bear Urhobo middle-names. My brother’s wife is Ijaw, from Gbaramatu. We have no personal issues with any ethnic group. All we ask is that our neighbours respect our history and our rights. We want peace, but not peace at the expense of justice.
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