Ijaw Group Responds To Misleading Petition By Voice Of Warri Kingdom Women Initiative -

By Uche Alvin

OPEN LETTER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, INEC & THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE

A Direct Response to the Misleading Petition by the Voice of Warri Kingdom Women Initiative (VOWWI)

Issued by the Warri Ijaw Women of Progressive Thoughts
10/12/2025

INTRODUCTION: A PETITION BUILT ON FALSEHOOD CANNOT STAND

The Ijaw people of Warri Federal Constituency rise today with deep anger, clarity and historical truth to reply to the misleading, provocative and fact-deficient petition issued by the Voice of Warri Kingdom Women Initiative (VOWWI). Their petition is an assault on documented history, constitutional authority, ancestral rights and demographic reality.

What they call “annexation” and “illegal renaming” is in fact Ijaw people reclaiming their true ancestral names, correcting colonial mispronunciations and rejecting forced historical distortions long imposed by an outdated supremacy narrative.

THE IJAW HAVE FIVE KINGDOMS AND NO PEOPLE LORD OVER ANY

Let it be known to Nigeria and the world that the Ijaw people of Warri Federal Constituency have five ancient, autonomous kingdoms:

Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom

Gbaramatu Kingdom

Egbema Kingdom

Isaba Kingdom

Diebiri Kingdom

These are not fishing camps, not temporary settlements and not tenant villages, they are kingdoms, each with its own traditional leadership, ancestral territories and documented pre-colonial presence.

No people, no ruler, no ethnic group and no traditional institution is “lord” over these kingdoms.
Neither history, nor custom, nor colonial records, nor the 1999 Constitution gives any ethnic group dominion over others in a multi-ethnic region.

COLONIAL AND HISTORICAL RECORDS DISMANTLE ITSEKIRI CLAIMS

VOWWI’s assertions collapse immediately when confronted with actual history.

Colonial Intelligence Reports

Documents such as CSO 26/Vol.6/08549 (1929) and CO 554/120/5 (1930s) confirm that:

“Ijaw settlements predate most recorded Itsekiri settlements in the Warri–Escravos region.”

European Explorers

Duarte Pacheco Pereira (1500s) and early European maps repeatedly recognized Ijaw habitation along the creeks centuries before any Itsekiri political formation.

Anthropological Notes

Talbot (1926) documented that many Warri riverine villages were of Ijaw origin, not Itsekiri foundation.

The manufactured claim that “Ijaw arrived less than 200 years ago” is not supported by any colonial file, any explorer’s log or any credible anthropological record. It is propaganda, not history.

SARABUBO / SARABUBOWEI IS IJAW LAND, NOT “SAGHRA”

The attempt to rename Sarabubowei as “Saghra” or “Sahara” is a colonial pronunciation error, not a historical identity.

The correct ancestral name remains Sarabubowei, and it is tied directly to the Ijaw custodial lineage: of IKERETIMI to BENAKEH-YE to AGBUNAESE to JAMES AFIYAGBA AGBUNAESE

Oil companies including Gulf Oil, Chevron and EGTL have archives confirming Ijaw custodianship on that land long before any modern contest.

No treaty, no gazette, no colonial acquisition document and no judicial pronouncement places Sarabubowei under Itsekiri ownership. None.

THEIR “LEGAL ARGUMENTS” IGNORE STRONGER AND SUPERIOR CASES

VOWWI carefully avoided landmark judgments that destroy the Itsekiri “overlordship” theory:

Ometan v. Dore Numa (1926) – Itsekiri agent had no authority to alienate lands belonging to others.

Privy Council (1933) — Overlord claims cannot be imposed broadly across multi-ethnic Warri.

Shell v. Tiebo VII (1996) — Supreme Court affirmed Ijaw ownership rights in riverine territories.

Their selective quoting of inferior court decisions does not eliminate the overwhelming body of law that rejects any single group claiming universal land ownership in Warri.

CONSTITUTIONAL REALITY: NO TRADITIONAL RULER CAN OWN MULTI-ETHNIC LAND

Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, not a traditional empire.

Section 1(1), 1999 Constitution:

“This Constitution is supreme and its provisions have binding force on all persons and authorities.”

Section 44(1), 1999 Constitution:

“No person shall be compulsorily deprived of property except by law.”

Land Use Act, Section 1:

“All land in each State is vested in the Governor.”

There is no constitutional or legal basis for anyone to claim “radical title” over Ijaw or Urhobo land.

THE REAL FEAR BEHIND THEIR PETITION IS THE FINAL DELINEATION RESULT

The truth is simple and painful to some:

The Final Ward Delineation Result exposes the real population distribution, real landmass and real settlement patterns of Warri Federal Constituency.

That is why VOWWI is suddenly writing petitions.
Not because of Sarabubowei.
Not because of renaming.
But because truth is coming and they want INEC to hide it.

If the result favoured them, they would have been the first to demand its release.

THE IJAW WILL NOT ACCEPT LIES IN PLACE OF HISTORY

Warri has suffered enough from politically motivated distortions.
Nigeria cannot afford another crisis born out of historical fraud.

We state with full authority:

The Ijaw are not tenants.

The Ijaw have five kingdoms.

The Ijaw bow to no fake overlord of 1952.

The Ijaw will defend their history and land with truth and law.

Any claim suggesting otherwise is false, provocative and unacceptable.

OUR FINAL DEMAND TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IGP & INEC

We call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Inspector-General of Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to:

Ignore the false petition of VOWWI
Protect all communities from ethnic provocation
Uphold constitutional equality in Warri
Sanction any group pushing false territorial history
Direct INEC to immediately publish the Final Ward Deleniation Result as ordered by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court judgment in SC/CV/1033/2022 (Hon. George Timinimi & Ors v. INEC) is final and binding.
INEC’s continued silence is unconstitutional and dangerous.
Truth must not be delayed any further.

CONCLUSION

We reject distortion.
We reject intimidation.
We reject any attempt to impose false overlordship on our people.

The Ijaw have spoken with truth, with history, with law and with conviction.
INEC must release the Final Deleniation Result now.
The Federal Government must uphold justice.
The IGP must ensure peace based on facts, not propaganda.

Signed:

Hon, Mrs Stella Oweikeme
(Chairman)

Dr, Innocent Grace-ere
(Secretary)

Warri Ijaw Women of Progressive Thoughts Representatives of: Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Egbema, Isaba & Diebiri Kingdoms

Cc:
President of the Senate

Speaker, House of Representatives

Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters

Chairman, House Committee on National Security & Intelligence

Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Petitions

Chairman, House Committee on Public Accountability

The Chief Judge, Federal High Court

Nigeria Bar Association (NBA)