JUST IN: Ijaw Stakeholders Group Writes Open Letter To Federal Government, NSA, Nigerian Security Agencies, Calls For Investigation Of INEC Over Refusal To Publish Warri Federal Constituency Final Delineation Report -

By Esther David

OPEN LETTER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER (NSA), SECURITY AGENCIES, AND ALL NIGERIANS OF CONSCIENCE

From: Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency
Date: [25/8/2025]

SUBJECT: ENOUGH OF THE INJUSTICE: INVESTIGATE INEC’S DELIBERATE REFUSAL TO PUBLISH THE SUPREME COURT–ORDERED FINAL WARD DELINEATION RESULT FOR WARRI

WHEN SILENCE BECOMES VIOLENCE

We, the Ijaw people of Warri Federal Constituency, write with righteous indignation and with a burdened spirit. INEC has turned the sacred temple of justice into a market square of selective obedience. Its refusal to publish the Supreme Court–ordered final delineation result is not merely an administrative delay, it is a betrayal of the Constitution, a mockery of democracy and an open provocation of the Nigerian state especially the Ijaw Urhobo people.

History warns us: every time justice was delayed in Warri, the result was violence in the streets and blood in the creeks. The crises of 1997, 1999, and 2003 are bitter reminders. When institutions betray justice, the people are forced into the wilderness of despair. INEC is pushing Warri towards that cliff again.

THE FRAUD OF THE PRESENT STRUCTURE

We reject the present 6:4:0 ward allocation (Itsekiri 6, Ijaw 4, Urhobo 0) as an institutionalized fraud and a relic of colonial manipulation.

Population Reality: The Ijaw and Urhobo constitute the overwhelming majority of Warri Federal Constituency. Yet, they are trapped under a fraudulent structure that elevates a minority into political overlords.

Landmass Reality: From Ogbe-Ijoh to Gbaramatu, from Diebiri to Isaba etc, the Ijaw and Urhobo own the physical landmass of Warri. This is an indisputable fact, acknowledged even in colonial surveys.

Historical Reality: Portuguese navigator Duarte Pacheco Pereira (1485) recorded the Ijaw of Escravos, Gbaramatu and Ogbe-Ijoh as the original inhabitants of these territories. British colonial records, including CSO 26/Vol. 6/08549 and CO 554/120/5, equally confirm the presence and dominance of Ijaw and Urhobo communities in Warri Province.

How then can the majority be caged as tenants, while the minority wears the crown of political lords? This is not democracy, it is apartheid by another name.

SUPREME COURT ORDER BETRAYED

The Supreme Court of Nigeria, in SC/CV/1033/2023 – Timinimi v. INEC, delivered a binding judgment directing INEC to conduct and announce the final ward delineation for Warri Federal Constituency.

The 1999 Constitution is explicit:

Section 287(1): “The decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons and by courts with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court.”

Section 1(3): “If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”

By refusing to obey the Supreme Court, INEC has declared open rebellion against the Constitution it swore to uphold. This is treason against the spirit of democracy.

OUR ANGER IS JUSTIFIED

INEC’s conduct is nothing less than deliberate sabotage:

It is stoking ethnic fire in a region already fragile.

It is mocking the authority of the Supreme Court.

It is reducing the Ijaw and Urhobo to political slaves in their ancestral homeland.

We will not and cannot accept any Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Warri under this fraudulent structure. No delineation, no registration. If INEC insists on this illegality, it alone will bear the responsibility for the consequences.

HISTORICAL DECLARATIONS AND REAL QUOTES

Justice Oputa once said: “The Supreme Court is not final because it is infallible; it is infallible because it is final.” If INEC disobeys the Supreme Court, then what becomes of Nigeria’s judiciary?

Justice Kayode Eso declared: “Where the rule of law is undermined, society descends into anarchy.” INEC’s silence is pushing Warri towards that dangerous slope.

Obaro Ikime in Groundwork of Nigerian History warned: “False history is the most dangerous weapon in the hands of oppressors.” The fraudulent 6:4:0 structure is false history written into law.

OUR DEMANDS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & NSA

We call on the Federal Government, the National Security Adviser, and all Nigerians of conscience to investigate INEC’s deliberate refusal to release the delineation result.

We demand:

Immediate publication and gazetting of the final delineation result.

Equal ward allocation that reflects the population and landmass of Ijaw, Urhobo and Itsekiri.

A federal investigation into why INEC obeys Supreme Court orders in other states but betrays Warri.

CONCLUSION: HISTORY WILL JUDGE

To the Federal Government, to the NSA, and to every Nigerian: silence in the face of injustice is complicity. INEC’s delay is no longer innocent; it is a deliberate assault on the Constitution, the judiciary and the Ijaw people.

We declare: our patience is not cowardice, our silence is not weakness.
We demand justice and we demand it now. If Warri burns tomorrow, let history record that it was INEC’s betrayal and the Federal Government’s silence that lit the fire.

Signed:

Chief, Timopere Joshua
(President)

Chief, Ebikeme T. Godstime
(Secretary)

Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

CC:

The Senate President & Speaker, House of Representatives

The Chief Justice of Nigeria

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP)

The Director-General, DSS

The Attorney-General of the Federation

The United Nations, African Union, and European Union

Nigerian & International Media