WARRI DELINEATION: INEC’s Refusal To Implement The Supreme Court Ordered Delineation Report Is A Threat To National Security___Says Ijaw Stakeholders Of Warri Federal Constituency -

By Esther David

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

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

SUBJECT: THE LOOMING CALAMITY IN WARRI: INEC’S REFUSAL TO PUBLISH THE SUPREME COURT–ORDERED FINAL DELINEATION RESULT IS A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY

WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES AN INVITATION TO CRISIS

We issue this letter not in whispers but in anger, not in fear but in boldness. INEC has chosen a dangerous path, a path that disrespects the Constitution, mocks the judiciary and pushes Warri toward unrest.

We are warning now: if INEC dares to take us back to the fraudulent old structure of 6 wards for Itsekiri, 4 for Ijaw, and 0 for Urhobo, after the Supreme Court judgment and after the nationwide delineation exercise, then INEC itself will have lit the fire of crisis in Warri.

The Itsekiri are shouting today because their falsehood has been exposed. But the real calamity lies in INEC’s silence and manipulation, in INEC’s refusal to announce the Supreme Court–ordered final ward delineation result.

We say it clearly: we will not be called tenants in our own land. We reject it. We resist it. And we will defend our right.

HISTORY SPEAKS LOUDER THAN FALSEHOOD

When Prince Ginuwa came from Benin, he met the Ijaw people already settled on the creeks and islands of Warri. We harbored him, gave him land, gave him a wife and allowed him to stay. The place that later became Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri) their so-called ancestral home, was Ijaw land, given to them by the Ijaws.

How then can the descendants of a stranger now turn around to call their benefactors “tenants”?

From Portuguese records like Duarte Pacheco Pereira’s 1485 testimony to British colonial documents like CSO 26/Vol. 6/08549 and CO 554/120/5, history is clear: the Ijaw were the original custodians of Escravos, Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, and the wider Warri region.

Even the Nigerian judiciary has affirmed our rights through multiple cases:

Shell v. Tiebo VII (1996, 9 NWLR Pt. 477, Pg. 668) where Ijaw ownership of land was upheld.

Ometan v. Dore Numa (1926, Privy Council) where dubious land dealings by Itsekiri agents were exposed.

SC/CV/1033/2023 (Timinimi v. INEC) where the Supreme Court ordered proper ward delineation in Warri.

History and law both testify: the Ijaw cannot and will not be erased.

CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATES BETRAYED

The Nigerian Constitution is unambiguous:

Section 14(2)(b): “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

Section 42(1): “A citizen of Nigeria shall not, by reason of his ethnic group or community, be subjected to discrimination.”

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

Section 1(3): “If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail.”

By refusing to publish the final delineation result, INEC is not only disobeying the Supreme Court, it is violating the Constitution itself. That is an act of rebellion against the state, a slow poisoning of democracy and an invitation to anarchy.

THE COURT IS OUR WITNESS

For over two decades, the Ijaw people endured marginalization under the fraudulent old ward system. Yet we did not pick up arms, we went to court. We subjected ourselves to the rule of law. We fought with patience, with evidence, with legal argument.

And we won.

The Supreme Court has spoken in Timinimi v. INEC (SC/CV/1033/2023). INEC has conducted the delineation. The final step is the announcement. Why then is INEC silent? Why this deliberate betrayal?

We say to INEC and to the Federal Government: anybody not satisfied with the process should also go to court, as we did. Do not attempt to rob us of our victory.

OUR DEMANDS

We call on the Federal Government, the NSA, and all Nigerians of conscience to act now:

Direct INEC to immediately publish and gazette the final delineation result for Warri Federal Constituency.

Ensure equal and just ward allocation reflecting Ijaw, Urhobo, and Itsekiri realities, not colonial falsehoods.

Investigate and expose any political sabotage behind INEC’s refusal to announce the result.

Guarantee peace and security in Warri by removing the root cause of ethnic tension.

CONCLUSION: WE WILL DEFEND WHAT IS OURS

Our patience is not foolishness. Our silence is not weakness. We have carried the weight of injustice long enough, and we will not allow INEC to drag us back into slavery.

We remind the Federal Government of Martin Luther King Jr.’s immortal words:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

If INEC continues this provocation, the responsibility for any unrest in Warri will lie squarely on its shoulders and on the Federal Government that failed to intervene.

We are ready to defend our land, our history and our dignity. We demand justice and we demand it now.

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 (UN)