JUST IN: Warri Ijaw Stakeholders Counters False Claims Made By ‘Warri Media Group’, Presents Historical And Legal Facts -

By Uche Alvin

The attention of the Warri Ijaw Stakeholders has been drawn to a recent publication by the so-called Warri Media Group, which attempted to distort verifiable history regarding the Gbaramatu Kingdom, its royal heritage, and ownership of lands within Warri South-West.

In the interest of truth, justice, and peaceful coexistence, we hereby respond with documented historical facts and binding legal evidence.

🔹 1. GBARAMATU KINGDOM: A HISTORIC IJAW ENTITY, NOT A 2017 CREATION

The claim that the Gbaramatu Kingdom was instituted only in 2017 is not only false but a deliberate attempt to rewrite history.

Colonial records from as early as 1918 recognized Gbaramatu as one of the traditional Ijaw clans under the Warri Division in the Western Niger Delta.
The Western Region Gazette of 1959 and Niger Delta Congress documents listed Gbaramatu, alongside Egbema, Ogbe-Ijoh, and Arogbo, as core Ijaw clans.

Further documentary evidence shows that Gbaramatu Local Council was established by the Western Region Legal Notice (W.R.L.N. CAP. 1957) — long before any modern administrative restructuring.
The people of Gbaramatu have existed and governed themselves centuries before these establishments. Therefore, any suggestion that Gbaramatu only came into existence recently is a deliberate falsehood against historical and legal records.

The current Gbaramatu monarchy is a continuation of this historical lineage, culminating in the recognition of HRM Oboro-Gbaraun II (Aketekpe Agadagba) as the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, officially gazetted by the Delta State Government in accordance with the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Edict No. 16 of 1998.

Gbaramatu is therefore not a newly created kingdom — it is a historically grounded, government-recognized Ijaw Kingdom with enduring legal and cultural foundations.

🔹 2. ON COURT CASES: MISREPRESENTATION OF JUDICIAL FACTS

The Warri Media Group cited Suit No. W/30/1962 and Supreme Court Case SC/294/70, claiming that Okerenkoko (formerly Okerenghigho) belongs to Omadino (Itsekiri).
This claim is legally false and factually misleading.

The W/30/1962 case was between Chief Dore Numa (Omadino) and Eyin Pessu (Okere) — the Ijaw of Gbaramatu were not parties to that suit.

The Supreme Court’s affirmation in SC/294/70 only upheld the judgment as it applied to those specific parties and boundaries.
Applying that judgment to Gbaramatu or Okerenkoko amounts to gross judicial mischief and contempt of legal reasoning.

In contrast, the Federal Government of Nigeria (2014) confirmed Okerenkoko as Ijaw land, following a Surveyor-General’s verification, before approving it as the permanent site of the Nigerian Maritime University (NMU) — a federal institution lawfully situated within the Gbaramatu Kingdom.

🔹 3. EARLIER COURT DECISIONS CONFIRMING IJAW RIGHTS OVER THEIR LANDS

Historical court judgments further invalidate the false territorial claims of the Warri Media Group:

(1) Gbaramatu Ijaws vs. Ugborodo Itsekiri (Case No. 58 of 1923):
In the Native Court of Ogidigben, the Ijaws obtained judgment in their favour against the Ugborodo Itsekiri.
The case arose when Itsekiri residents living in Ijaw lands attempted to compel Ijaw inhabitants to participate in the Ugborodo Juju festival during the 1923 festival season.
The Ijaws of these towns and villages refused, asserting that they were not under the jurisdiction or control of the Itsekiri.
The matter came before the Ogidigben Native Court, which at that time served both Gbaramatu Ijaws and Ugborodo Itsekiri under the Forcados District.
The case was decided in favour of the Ijaw people, affirming their autonomy and ownership of their territories.

(2) Benikrukru (Gbaramatu) vs. Ugborodo (Itsekiri) — Suit No. W/124/76:
This case, heard decades later, was also decided in favour of the Benikrukru people of Gbaramatu, further confirming the long-standing judicial recognition of Ijaw ownership and settlement rights in the area.

These historical and judicial records remain part of the public legal archive, unchallenged and binding in their implications.

🔹 4. GOVERNMENT RECOGNITION AND LEGAL VALIDITY

The Delta State Government recognizes HRM Oboro-Gbaraun II, Aketekpe Agadagba, as the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom.
This recognition is gazetted and binding, carrying the force of law under Section 20 of the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Edict (No. 16 of 1998).

Furthermore, under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Section 42) and the Land Use Act (1978), every ethnic group retains equal rights to land and self-determination within its ancestral boundaries.
The Ijaw of Warri cannot, therefore, be labeled as “settlers” on lands where their ancestors have lived, fished, and governed for centuries.

🔹 5. CALL FOR TRUTH, RESPECT, AND PEACE

The Warri Ijaw Stakeholders urge the Warri Media Group and its sponsors to desist from peddling divisive propaganda and to respect the sanctity of truth.

True peace in Warri will only come through mutual recognition, fairness, and historical honesty — not through distortions, arrogance, or ethnic superiority claims.

We remain committed to peace, unity, and the defense of our people’s dignity within the Nigerian federation.