Robinson Ariyo’s Book Titled “INEC CORRUPT PRACTICES” Filled With Falsehood__Says Right Group In An Open Letter To Barr. Temi Harriman, INEC, Federal Government Of Nigeria -

By Esther David

Title: Truth Before Falsehood: Setting the Records Straight on Warri’s Ward Delineation Crisis

Dear Hon. (Barr.) Temi Harriman,
Dear Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
Dear Federal Government of Nigeria,

We write with deep anger, yet with clarity of purpose, to refute the selective narratives recently circulated at the launch of the book “INEC Corrupt Practices: The Siamese Twins and Warri Federal Constituency.” While we respect your distinguished career and your father’s legacy, your remarks “abide by law or risk chaos” as reported in the media, are themselves a tragic distortion of the true legal and historical position of the Warri ward delineation crisis.

The Law Must Be Quoted in Full, Not in Fragments

The Supreme Court of Nigeria in Timinimi v. INEC (SC/CV/1033/2023) gave a clear, final and binding directive: INEC must conclude and publish the final ward delineation results for Warri Federal Constituency. This is not an “immediate judgment” that can be revisited at will; it is a judgment of the apex court of the land, binding on all persons and authorities under Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Selectively invoking an interlocutory order from 1997 while ignoring a Supreme Court judgment of 2022 is the very definition of contempt.

As the late jurist Chukwudifu Oputa once warned: “Justice is not a one-way traffic. It must be seen to be done to all sides equally.” To continue to freeze Warri Federal Constituency in a fraudulent ward structure struck down by the Supreme Court is to insult both the law and democracy.

Historical Truth Cannot Be Erased by Banquet Halls

Your speech recalls the Willink Commission Report of 1958. That report was not an Itsekiri charter; it was a British acknowledgement of the fears of Nigeria’s minorities, including the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples, about domination by numerically smaller groups armed with colonial privileges. The same report recommended special protection for the Niger Delta peoples who were then and remain, the economic backbone of Nigeria.

Colonial files—CSO 26/Vol.6/08549, CO 554/120/5 and Portuguese explorer Duarte Pacheco Pereira’s 1485 testimony, all pre-date the Itsekiri kingdom’s later claims. They confirm the presence and political organization of Ijaw settlements in Gbaramatu, Ogbe-Ijoh and Diebiri long before any so-called “Warri South” ward structure was concocted in 1997. Quoting the Willink Report while ignoring these records is intellectual dishonesty.

Technical and Democratic Equity

Under Section 14(2)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, “the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.” Yet for decades the Ijaw and Urhobo majority populations of Warri Federal Constituency have been locked into minority ward structures, while one small ethnic group enjoys disproportionate representation. This is not merely a legal matter; it is a technical breach of electoral equity, population data and constitutional democracy.

The former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, once said: “INEC must be an impartial umpire, not a player.” By delaying the publication of the final ward delineation, INEC is behaving not as an umpire but as a party to a fraudulent status quo.

“Abide by Law or Risk Chaos” We Agree, But the Law Is Clear

You said, “Respecting the law is the only way to sustain peace. Nigeria is not a jungle.” On this, we agree wholeheartedly. But respecting the law means obeying the Supreme Court judgment, not cherry-picking old interlocutory orders. Nigeria becomes a jungle when apex court judgments are ignored, when violence is rewarded with more wards and when communities that have waited decades for justice are told to “be patient.” Patience is not weakness; but patience abused becomes resistance.

Our Demand

We therefore demand, educationally, legally, historically and technically that:

INEC immediately publishes the final ward delineation result as ordered by the Supreme Court.

The Federal Government directs INEC to comply forthwith to avert unrest.

Public figures, including former lawmakers, refrain from misleading the public with half-truths dressed as legal wisdom.

As Martin Luther King Jr. reminded the world: “A right delayed is a right denied.”

We shall not register under fraudulent wards already struck down by the Supreme Court. No final ward delineation result, no Continuous Voter Registration. No CVR, no election. This is not a threat; it is a constitutional stand.

Conclusion

Hon. Harriman, it is not enough to call for credibility; one must also resist the temptation to distort history and law for ethnic comfort. Democracy dies not only by bullets but by silence and selective memory. We will not be silent.

Yours faithfully,

Hon, Timothy Ebiotubo
Spokesman

On behalf Of The Concerned People Of Warri Historical facts

Cc:

The Delta State Government

The National Security Adviser

The National Assembly

International Observers

Media Houses