JUST IN: Concerned Elders Of Warri Federal Constituency Makes Rebuttal To Press Conference Held By People Of Okere -

By Uche Alvin

STATEMENT FROM THE CONCERNED ELDERS OF WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY

An Angry Rebuttal to the Lies of the So-Called Indigenous People of Okere

We, the Concerned Elders of Warri Federal Constituency, rise in solemn anger and righteous indignation. We can no longer fold our arms while falsehood is paraded as truth and propaganda elevated above history, law and conscience. The recent press address in the name of “Indigenous People of Okere” is not only mischievous, it is reckless, deceitful and a calculated insult to the memory of our ancestors, to colonial records, to judicial authority and to the intelligence of every right-thinking Nigerian.

Historical Outrage: Truth Cannot Be Buried

Let the world hear it loud and clear: Warri was never and will never be, an Itsekiri estate.

The so-called Itsekiri identity was an artificial creation of the 15th–16th centuries, stitched together from Benin migrants, Yoruba adventurers and Portuguese contacts. Long before their emergence, the creeks, rivers and lands of Warri were the homesteads of the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples.

In 1485, Duarte Pacheco Pereira, in his Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis, recorded: “We found a great river with villages of negroes who live by the sea, fishermen of the language of Ijo.” Not one mention of “Okere,” not a trace of “Ode-Itsekiri an Ijaw Land.” and Itshekiri in general

The British Colonial Intelligence Report, CSO 26/Vol.6/08549, affirms that Ijaw and Urhobo communities dominated the Warri District well before the intrusion of migrant groups.

Warri is historically composed of seven indigenous kingdoms: Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Egbema, Isaba, Agbarha, Okere-Urhobo and Itsekiri. Any attempt to erase six and enthrone one is nothing but fraud of the highest order.

We are elders, we sat under the moonlight, we heard our fathers’ testimonies and we have read the colonial archives with our own eyes. We declare with anger: Itsekiri cannot erase others from Warri with fabricated press statements.

Legal Realities That Crush Lies

The Okere propaganda shamelessly distorts jurisprudence. The law is crystal clear:

In Ogegede v. Dore Numa (1925) and Ometan v. Dore Numa (1926), the courts did not award Warri to the Itsekiri. Rather, they exposed Dore Numa’s fraudulent practice of leasing Ijaw and Urhobo lands without consent.

The Privy Council in London (1932) rebuked the manipulation of land leases in Warri and highlighted the defective nature of many Itsekiri claims.

No law in Nigeria “perpetually bars” a people from defending their ancestral rights. Such an absurd doctrine is unconstitutional. As Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees: “Every person shall be entitled to a fair hearing in the determination of his civil rights and obligations.” Land rights are continuous, eternal and can never be extinguished by propaganda.

The Supreme Court Judgment of 2023 in George Timinimi & Ors v. INEC (SC/CV/1033/2023) shattered the illusion of Itsekiri monopoly. It expressly affirmed the Ijaws of Ogbe-Ijoh and Gbaramatu as core stakeholders in Warri Federal Constituency and ordered INEC to publish the ward delineation result that reflects that reality.

Therefore, those shouting “settled law” are clinging to colonial ghosts, not to the living authority of the Supreme Court.

On the Hypocrisy of ‘Incursions’

We are outraged at the audacity of calling Miller Waterside, McIver and Main Market “criminal occupations.” These are ancient Ijaw settlements, rooted long before the creation of Warri South Local Government Area.

If Ijaw presence is an “incursion,” then what do we call the fact that Itsekiri chiefs relied on Ijaw lands in Escravos and Gbaramatu to sign their treaties with the British Crown? Without Ijaw territory, there would have been no “Itsekiri treaties” to boast of.

Peace Is Not the Silence of Slavery

We elders have lived through the bloodshed of 1997, 2003, and other crises sparked by Itsekiri provocation. We buried our sons and daughters. We will not be lectured on “peace” by those who light the fire and then cry wolf in the press.

True peace is not oppression disguised as calm. Peace is justice, equity and fairness. As Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution affirms: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

Any government that ignores Ijaw and Urhobo cries while indulging Itsekiri propaganda is complicit in injustice and culpable for any unrest that follows.

Let it be known: patience is not cowardice, but patience has an end. If these provocations continue, the blame for the consequences will not lie with the oppressed.

Our Final Declaration

We, the Concerned Elders of Warri Federal Constituency, issue this thunderous reminder:

Historically: Ijaws and Urhobos were here long before the manufactured Itsekiri identity.

Legally: The Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2023 has affirmed our rights; no propaganda can overturn it.

Constitutionally: The 1999 Constitution enshrines our rights to equality, fair hearing and representation.

Morally: No minority group can monopolize what belongs to many.

The Okere press address is arrogance dressed as advocacy, ignorance painted as law and provocation cloaked as history. We reject it, we condemn it, and we warn those behind it: do not push Warri into another crisis with your lies.

Signed:

Chief, Tiemopere Joshua
(President)

Chief, Ebikeke T. Goodstime

(Secretary)

Concerned Elders of Warri Federal Constituency

Cc:
The President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

The National Assembly of Nigeria

The National Security Adviser (NSA)

The Attorney General of the Federation

The Delta State Government