Delineation Blackmail: How The Itsekiris Are Holding Democracy Hostage__

By Uche Alvin

PRESS BRIEFING
Issued by: Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency
Date: July 14, 2025

Title: THE LANDLORDS OF PROPAGANDA: WHY THE ITSEKIRIS NEED TO LIE TO EXIST

Subtitle: The Delineation Blackmail – How the Itsekiris Are Holding Democracy Hostage in Warri

Fellow Nigerians, the time has come for us to break our silence and expose the deep-rooted falsehood that has continually clouded the political skies of Warri. For too long, the Itsekiris have built castles of lies, palaces of deception, and altars of propaganda, hoping to sustain an identity that is historically shaky, geographically laughable and demographically insignificant. This press briefing is not just a rebuttal, it is a firestorm of facts.

We speak as the indigenous landlords of Warri, the Ijaw people, the original custodians of the riverine belts long before any Olu was crowned or any colonial ink was spilled.

WHY THE ITSEKIRIS NEED TO LIE TO EXIST

The Itsekiri survival in the political theatre of Warri depends on a single currency, deceit. Their only hope of retaining any relevance in a land they did not own is to keep recycling lies and stretching fabricated historical myths to breaking point. Why? Because truth is poison to propaganda and truth exposes what the world must know, that the Itsekiris are squatters masking as kings.

Let’s put the facts where fiction used to sit:

The Olu of Warri’s Domain was not Warri Township:
As clearly stated in the Western Region Gazette of 1952, the Olu of Warri’s jurisdiction was limited to “Itsekiri areas.” It was not until the 1950s that colonial manipulations tried to rename the title from Olu of Itsekiri to Olu of Warri, a fraudulent distortion that has no historical, cultural or judicial basis.

Court Rulings Have Sided with Ijaws:
In Suit W/148/78: Eyin Pessu & Ors. v. Chief E. Otuedon, the court ruled that Ijaws are the owners of their land in Warri and not under the suzerainty of any Olu. Several other cases like Megan v. Uwaka and Apo v. Itsekiri Communal Land Trustees have exposed the Itsekiri’s manipulative tendencies.

The Ijaws did not migrate into Warri, they were there long before the Itsekiri even existed as a group. The likes of Gbaramatu, Ogbe-Ijoh, Diebiri, Egbema and Isaba were thriving Ijaw kingdoms centuries before the arrival of Prince Ginuwa in the 15th century. Even then, Ginuwa was harbored and protected by Ijaw communities. Where then lies the foundation of Itsekiri ownership claims?

THE DELINEATION BLACKMAIL – HOW THE ITSEKIRIS ARE HOLDING DEMOCRACY HOSTAGE

Let Nigerians be alarmed: democracy is under siege in Warri, not by bandits or terrorists but by a tiny ethnic aristocracy who fear electoral defeat, the Itsekiris.

INEC’s constitutionally mandated delineation exercise has become the latest tool of blackmail. The Itsekiris, who represent a demographic minority in the Warri Federal Constituency, are now using threats, fake court injunctions and political noise to suppress the will of the majority, the Ijaws and Urhobos.

Let the world hear this clearly:

The Ijaws of Warri South-West and Warri North and South are more than four times the Itsekiri population.

Gbaramatu alone has over 54 communities, yet it has only one polling unit in some areas, a deliberate disenfranchisement.

Ogbe-Ijoh, the headquarters of Warri South-West LGA, is still being treated as if it is alien to the system, while Ode-Itsekiri, a mere village without any known administrative weight, is being manipulated into becoming a center of Itsekiri hegemony.

Let us be frank: This is no longer about delineation; this is about domination and INEC must not allow itself to be used as a tool for ethnic suppression.

BLACKMAIL IN BROAD DAYLIGHT

The Itsekiris have taken their game further by threatening peace, sabotaging unity and blackmailing the Federal Government, the security agencies and INEC. Every time the truth gets close, they raise false alarms of marginalization, armed invasion, or “sacred land” desecration.

WE ARE CALLING ON ALL CONCERNED STAKEHOLDERS

This is not just about Warri anymore. This is about justice, truth and democratic integrity. We therefore call on:

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently call the Itsekiri aristocracy to order.

INEC to immediately publish and implement the final ward delineation result based on population and geographical spread, not manipulation.

The National Security Adviser and DSS to investigate does causing violent in Warri

The international community, including ECOWAS and the United Nations, to monitor the situation in Warri closely.

Civil Society Organizations and human rights groups to speak up against ethnic suppression under democratic disguise.

FINAL WORDS: TRUTH IS OUR WEAPON

Let it be known to all: we the Ijaws of Warri are not afraid. We will not be bullied into silence. We have the land, we have the people, we have the history and we have the facts.

The age of Itsekiri propaganda is over.
The truth is marching.
And no amount of blackmail can stop it.

Signed,

Chief Tiemopere Joshua (President)

Chief Ebikeke T. Goodstime – Secretary

Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

Cc:

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

INEC Chairman

National Security Adviser

Ijaw Youth Council

Urhobo Progress Union

Nigerian Human Rights Commission