Re: The Shenanigan Illegal “Baby King” — Historical Fraud, Political Manipulation, And The Urgent Need For Federal Investigation -

By Uche Alvin

OPEN LETTER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, INEC AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Re: The Shenanigans Illegal “Baby King” — Historical Fraud, Political Manipulation, and the Urgent Need for Federal Investigation

From: Ijaw/Urhobo Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency
Date: [14/8/2025]

INTRODUCTION: WHEN LIES SIT ON THE THRONE, JUSTICE IS IN EXILE

We write with a burning pain in our hearts, not merely as citizens but as custodians of the truth and defenders of the memory of our forefathers. The ongoing charade in Warri, the enthronement and international parading of a so-called “Olu of Warri” over lands and peoples he has no ancestral claim to, is a grotesque insult to history, a desecration of law and a calculated act of desperation.

This is not a matter of mere ethnic rivalry, it is the criminal rewriting of the past to cement a fraudulent political dominance. The fraud is old but the desperation is new and it is time the Federal Government, INEC and the international community investigate how state power, manipulated institutions and foreign lobbying have been used to impose an illegitimate kingship over Warri’s majority peoples, the Ijaw and Urhobo.

As the Nigerian Constitution (Section 14(2)(b)) makes clear: “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government” not the protection of manufactured royal ancestry or the enabling of minority domination.

FRAUDULENT ANCESTRY & TITLE MANIPULATION

Historically, the title “Olu of Warri” was never a pan-Warri throne. Colonial records, including the 1928 Intelligence Report on the Itsekiri, clearly indicate that the Olu’s authority was confined to Itsekiri settlements, never extending over Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Egbema or Urhobo territories.

Even earlier, in the Portuguese account of Pacheco Pereira (1485), the Ijaw presence in the Benin and Escravos rivers is documented decades before the arrival of Ginuwa, the Itsekiri’s mythical first Olu. Yet, modern-day fabricators have woven genealogies that insert Itsekiri influence where it never historically existed, attempting to claim an overlordship that colonial officers themselves refused to recognise.

POLITICAL PATRONAGE OVER TRADITION

Today’s throne is not built on community consent but on the scaffolding of political patronage. Government-backed influence, state security forces and media machinery have been deployed to shield the illegitimate enthronement from scrutiny. Where tradition once demanded the blessing of all Warri’s indigenous stakeholders, now political blessing substitutes for ancestral legitimacy.

This is contrary to Section 42(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity or community origin. Yet, the state’s selective recognition of one ethnic minority’s claim over multi-ethnic territory is textbook discrimination.

LAND GRABS IN THE NAME OF KINGSHIP

The fraudulent kingship has been used as a battering ram for illegal land appropriations. In Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu and Urhobo territories, the throne has served as a false legal pretext for claiming oil-bearing lands, coercing oil companies into lopsided deals, and diverting compensations meant for true indigenous owners.

Colonial land lease records, particularly the notorious 1914 and 1936 leases show Itsekiri “signatories” consenting to the leasing of lands they never owned, a practice condemned even by the British as “convenience administration,” not rightful sovereignty.

CULTURAL MISREPRESENTATION

The Olu of Warri is presented abroad as a pan-Warri cultural symbol, when in truth he represents a single ethnic minority. This deception erases the Ijaw and Urhobo cultural presence in the global imagination, replacing it with a false monolith.

From the fraudulent rebranding of the throne in 1952 (changing “Olu of Itsekiri” to “Olu of Warri”) to the present-day parades in foreign capitals, this is a sustained cultural hijacking.

EXPLOITING STATE INSTITUTIONS

The manipulation has extended to INEC ward delineations, where the Itsekiri minority, less than 25% of Warri’s population has historically enjoyed majority ward control, while the Ijaw and Urhobo majorities share the political crumbs.

Even the courts have been selectively used: favourable rulings are trumpeted as eternal law, while unfavourable judgments, such as Chief E. E. Sillo v. Chief Dore Numa (1934), which limited Itsekiri authority to their own settlements are buried in silence.

INTERNATIONAL IMAGE LAUNDERING

The final insult is the international laundering of this illegitimacy. Delegations have been sent abroad to present fabricated historical documents to diplomats, projecting an image of unity and unbroken sovereignty that does not exist.

This is nothing less than diplomatic fraud, an attempt to secure foreign recognition for a throne whose legitimacy would collapse under the weight of honest historical scrutiny.

CONCLUSION: OUR DEMAND FOR JUSTICE

We call on:

The Federal Government of Nigeria to launch an immediate investigation into the political, financial and diplomatic machinery sustaining this fraudulent kingship.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resist all pressure, uphold the Supreme Court judgment in Timinimi v. INEC (SC/CV/1033/2023), and publish the true ward delineation reflecting demographic reality.
The International Community to reject all diplomatic overtures based on falsified historical claims until an impartial, historical and legal audit is conducted.

Let it be known: the truth is not negotiable. The Constitution is not optional. And history will not forgive silence in the face of this calculated injustice.

Signed:

Chief Tiemopere Joshua (President)

Hon. (Barr.) Ovie Peter
(Secretary)

Ijaw/Urhobo Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

Cc:

The President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

The National Security Adviser (NSA)

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

The President of the Senate, National Assembly of Nigeria

The Speaker, House of Representatives

The British High Commission, Abuja

The United States Embassy, Abuja