“Stop The False And Misleading Claims On The Court Of Appeal Judgement, It Has Nothing To Do With Land Ownership”_

By Ebiowei Gabriel

My attention has been drawn to a deliberately misleading and propagandist “Breaking News dated 17th December, 2025” being circulated by some Itsekiri elements, falsely claiming that the Court of Appeal has reaffirmed Itsekiri ownership and territorial authority over Ogbe-Ijoh land in Warri South Local Government Area.
This claim is entirely false, deceptive and a gross misrepresentation of the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
For the avoidance of doubt and in the interest of truth and public record, the Court of Appeal did NOT make any pronouncement whatsoever on land ownership, territorial authority, or governance in favour of the Itsekiri people.

The facts of the judgment are clear and unambiguous:

The case before the Court of Appeal was NOT about land ownership. It was strictly about the payment of stipends to Pere Amaokosu of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom by the Warri South Local Government Council.
The Warri South Local Government Council was paying stipends to the Late Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom but stopped upon the ascension to the throne by His Royal Majesty, MOBENE 111.
As a result, MOBENE 111 sued the Warri South Local Government Council to Court.
However, the Court held that the matter was filed outside the three months statutory period to sue public officers in Nigeria and struck out the case.
The issue of Itsekiri ownership of Ogbe-Ijoh areas in Warri Township never arose for determination.
Indeed, in its judgment, the Court rightly recognised and acknowledged the Ijaw people as an indigenous community in Warri South Local Government Area.
The appeal was struck out solely on the ground of statute of limitation, meaning it was filed outside the time allowed by law.
A matter struck out on grounds of limitation is not decided on its merits and cannot, by any stretch of legal imagination, be interpreted as conferring ownership or territorial authority on any party, when there was no such issue for determination.
At no point did the Court declare Ogbe-Ijoh land as Itsekiri land, nor did it deny the Ogbe-Ijoh people their ancestral presence or rights.

The attempt to twist a procedural decision into a declaration of ownership is reckless propaganda, designed to mislead the public and inflame ethnic tensions.
If the Itsekiri Kingdom or its agents are genuinely interested in the truth, they should obtain and read the certified true copy of the judgment, rather than manufacture conclusions that the Court never made.
The Ogbe-Ijoh people of Warri South Local Government Area remain a recognised, indigenous and legitimate kingdom and no amount of misinformation can alter historical facts or judicial records.

We call on all well-meaning Nigerians, the media and relevant authorities to disregard these false claims and to always verify court judgments before amplifying misleading narratives.

Signed:
HON. (BARR.) JEFFREY PERE OROMONI