JUST IN: Warri Federal Constituency Stakeholders Writes Open Letter To Federal Government, Highlights Itsekiris False Leases, Forged History And Manipulation, Calls For Justice, Finalization Of INEC Delineation Exercise -

By Esther David

OPEN LETTER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA
RE: FALSE LEASES, FORGED HISTORY AND THE ITSEKIRI MANIPULATION OF WARRI: A CALL FOR JUSTICE AND FINALIZATION OF INEC’S DELINEATION EXERCISE

To:
The President and Commander-in-Chief, Federal Republic of Nigeria
The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation
The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
The President of the Senate
The Speaker of the House of Representatives
The National Boundary Commission
The Honourable Minister of Interior
Civil Society Organizations
International Development Partners
The General Public

Your Excellencies,

With deep historical consciousness and a firm commitment to justice, we the Ijaw and Urhobo indigenous peoples of Warri South, Warri South-West and Warri North, write to expose a sustained pattern of colonial distortion, document forgery and political manipulation deployed by a section of the Itsekiri leadership to appropriate lands that do not historically, legally or demographically belong to them.

This open letter seeks to set the record straight and call upon the Nigerian state and international community to uphold the truth, support fairness and finalize INEC’s just ward delineation exercise in Warri Federal Constituency.

FALSE LEASES AND COLONIAL FRAUD: THE ITSEKIRI PLAYBOOK

The current land-related claims by some Itsekiri elites are largely premised on fraudulent leases and misappropriated colonial records. Most notorious among these are the so-called leases signed by Chief Dore Numa, a known colonial warrant chief and commercial agent of the British, not a landowner. As the colonial record Southern Nigeria Intelligence Report No. 109 of 1930 on the Ijoh Tribe of the Western Delta reveals, “Dore Numa had no proprietary right over the lands he purported to lease.”

These leases, executed without the informed consent of the rightful Ijaw or Urhobo landowners, were instruments of colonial convenience not legitimacy. In fact, Dore Numa’s own admission before colonial authorities affirms his role as an intermediary, not a landlord. The Privy Council in Ojukwu v. Dore (1941) ruled that possession by Dore did not equate to ownership, a legal principle constantly ignored by the Itsekiri elites.

It is through these instruments of deceit that the Itsekiris built a false narrative of ownership, narratives which have now collapsed under the weight of historical truth.

IJAW AND URHOBO LANDLORDS, ITSEKIRI TENANTS

It is a matter of established record that the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples are the aboriginal inhabitants of the lands now administratively designated as Warri South, Warri South-West, and parts of Warri North. The 1932 Intelligence Report on the Urhobo of Warri Province notes that Itsekiris were often “settled with the permission of the native owners, mainly Urhobo and Ijaw.”

Historical evidence confirms that the Itsekiri presence in these areas stemmed from fishing encampments and trade outposts. The migration of Ginuwa from Benin, an event often mythologized, was facilitated by Ijaw hospitality. Oral traditions across Gbaramatu, Ogbe-Ijoh, Isaba, Egbema and Okerenkoko recount how Ginuwa was offered land and even an Ijaw wife, in accordance with the Ijaw custom of peaceful accommodation.

The Itsekiris, therefore, are guests not landlords, in many parts of the Warri territory.

THE OLU OF WARRI: A KINGDOM OF COLONIAL FICTION

We categorically reject the false imperial illusion that the Olu of Warri holds jurisdiction over Ijaw or Urhobo lands. This is a colonial fabrication. In fact, in the 1958 Willink Commission Report, the Olu’s claim to overlordship over other ethnic groups was condemned as a source of ethnic tension and injustice.

The Olu is the traditional leader of the Itsekiri people, nothing more. His domain does not extend into Ijaw or Urhobo territories, which have always maintained their own autonomous kingdoms, chiefs and governance systems long before British colonization.

The attempt to use this obsolete title as a territorial tool to claim lands never owned is not only dishonest but dangerous.

FABRICATED IDENTITY: THE LINGUISTIC ROOTS OF “ITSEKIRI”

Even the term “Itsekiri” bears the mark of recent invention. According to early anthropological and linguistic evidence, the name derives from the Ijaw word “Seikiri,” meaning “wilderness” or “forbidden forest,” often used to describe remote or uninhabited zones.

This aligns with early European references to the group as “Jekri” or “Chekiri” a corruption of the Ijaw designation. The colonial rebranding of these fishing settlements into a “nation” was a political act, not a historical one. The identity itself was moulded by missionaries and colonial agents to serve trade and administrative purposes.

Their history is thus not rooted in indigenous sovereignty but in strategic reinvention and colonial patronage.

INEC’S FIELD WORK WAS TRANSPARENT – THE ITSEKIRI LIES MUST STOP

We wish to state unequivocally that the recent ward delineation exercise by INEC in Warri Federal Constituency was transparent, inclusive and professionally executed. At every stage of the process, Ijaw, Urhobo and Itsekiri representatives were involved. The demarcation was based on verifiable population data, historical community existence and local government records.

What the Itsekiris truly fear is the exposure of their exaggerated population figures and ghost communities, many of which exist only on paper, with no permanent settlements or traditional structures.

Their so-called “villages” are fishing camps and temporary shelters without fixed populations. Yet they cunningly converted these camps into wards in the past, manipulating INEC and the state. That era of deception must now end.

OUR DEMANDS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND INEC

We demand, with moral clarity and historical legitimacy, that:

The Federal Government and INEC disregard the blackmail, petitions and threats from Itsekiri leaders aimed at stalling a fair process.
The final ward delineation results for Warri Federal Constituency be published without delay, in line with the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.
The Nigerian state must recognize and respect the indigenous rights of the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples and reflect these in electoral representation, traditional titles and land administration.
1. The title “Olu of Warri” should be confined to Itsekiri areas only and must not be used as a pretext to assert sovereignty over lands not historically theirs.

CONCLUSION: TRUTH MUST PREVAIL OVER PROPAGANDA

It is time to confront the uncomfortable truth: the Itsekiris have enjoyed decades of colonial advantage, political manipulation and historical misrepresentation. But the tide is turning.

We call on INEC, the Federal Government, international observers, civil society and the good people of Nigeria to stand for justice. Let us end the colonial lies and begin a new era based on truth, fairness and respect for ancestral ownership.

Warri is not an Itsekiri kingdom. It is a shared space, long inhabited by Ijaw and Urhobo peoples, whose rights must now be fully recognized.

Let INEC complete its constitutional mandate, free from ethnic sabotage.

Let history be corrected.

Let justice prevail.

Signed:
Miebi Thomp
Chairman,
Concerned Indigenous Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

Cc:
National Human Rights Commission
United Nations Human Rights Office
ECOWAS Commission
United States Embassy
United Kingdom High Commission
European Union Mission to Nigeria
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights