{"id":4358,"date":"2025-07-08T20:10:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T20:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/07\/08\/warri-ward-delineation-delay-a-betrayal-of-justice-a-mockery-of-indigeneity___says-concerned-ijaw-group\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T20:10:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T20:10:54","slug":"warri-ward-delineation-delay-a-betrayal-of-justice-a-mockery-of-indigeneity___says-concerned-ijaw-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/07\/08\/warri-ward-delineation-delay-a-betrayal-of-justice-a-mockery-of-indigeneity___says-concerned-ijaw-group\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWarri Ward Delineation Delay A Betrayal Of Justice, A Mockery Of Indigeneity\u201d___Says Concerned Ijaw Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Uche Alvin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MEMORANDUM TO INEC, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND ALL CONCERNED STAKEHOLDERS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RE: WARRI WARD DELINEATION DELAY \u2014 A BETRAYAL OF JUSTICE, A MOCKERY OF INDIGENEITY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, the Indigenous Ijaw People of Warri Federal Constituency, sons and daughters of Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Diebiri, Isaba and other ancestral communities, submit this memorandum not as beggars of justice, but as rightful stakeholders in the democratic and historical destiny of Warri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are not aliens. We are not latecomers. We are not political pawns.
We are the first dwellers of the lands now called Warri, long before the British arrived, long before colonial cartographers redrew our territories and long before anyone heard of a so-called Olu of Itsekiri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What INEC has done is a diligent and lawful process of ward delineation as ordered by the supreme Court. The report has passed all technical verifications, administrative scrutiny, and judicial confirmation. It is complete. It is ready. Yet it is being withheld in the shadows of ethnic blackmail and elite sabotage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THIS IS NOT A DELAY. IT IS A BETRAYAL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is an open insult to a people who have abided by every law. A slap to decades of patient struggle. A stain on Nigeria\u2019s conscience. A test of the credibility of INEC as an institution of democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Itsekiri elite have done everything to suppress this truth. From running to palaces of Benin monarchs, to whispering in the ears of Yoruba kings, to lobbying northern traditional institutions. From failed court appeals to media manipulation. From sponsoring unrest near Ijaw territories to inciting panic through fake protests at the NPA and Arise TV. From judgement review attempts to desperate calls for ethnic recognition in places they historically never belonged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with all their noise, their actions betray the same truth, they are afraid of justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And why shouldn\u2019t they be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their so-called kingship was built not on consensus or ancestral dominion, but on colonial invention. A title manufactured by the British to control a region by empowering their most loyal allies. Their so-called palace in Warri is built on Okere-Urhobo land, where rent is paid. That single fact collapses every claim of ownership. No true king builds a throne on borrowed soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Olu of Itsekiri is bearing false title. He holds no legitimacy over Ijaw or Urhobo territories. He is not revered across the ethnic spectrum of Warri. No Ijaw community bows to him. No Urhobo clan pays him homage. His \u201coverlordship\u201d is fiction, written in the ink of colonial favoritism, not ancestral truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We harbour no hate. But we carry pain. Deep pain. Pain of silence. Pain of denial. Pain of being reduced with manipulation and lies as owners in lands we cultivated, named and defended. It is our kindness that gave them shelter but that kindness has been repaid with historical theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even their own icon, Chief Dore Numa, in a letter dated November 10, 1923, admitted clearly and publicly that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe Ogbe-Ijoh natives are the rightful owners of the New Warri or Ogbe-Ijo and Alders Town Land in Warri. Myself, Dore Numa, own not any land at Warri through native right of ownership\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is not folklore. This is on record. It is preserved in Nigeria\u2019s National Archives and referenced by scholars like Prof. Obaro Ikime in Niger Delta Rivalry (p. 255).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legally, multiple court judgments have already shattered the Itsekiri myth of territorial dominance. The Court of Appeal in Koko v. Koko made it clear that titles without historical backing are empty. The Supreme Court in Shell-BP v. Abedi confirmed that land claims must be backed by actual occupation, not oral exaggerations. In Edoni v. Igwe, it was reaffirmed that no monarch can claim territories outside the scope of his native ancestry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we ask: why is INEC holding back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why should the entire Warri political landscape be hijacked by the emotional fragility of a group desperate to cling to colonial entitlements?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why should the constitutional rights of the Ijaw be suppressed because of manipulative few finding it hard to accept the truth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let it be known: If this ward delineation result is not published, there will be no election in the three Warri LGAs in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will not vote under an illegal, outdated and already-nullified ward structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our votes are not instruments of oppression. Our votes are voices of a people and those voices have been silenced for too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We therefore call on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INEC \u2014 to rise above pressure and immediately release the final ward delineation report as guided by the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Federal Government \u2014 to stop enabling tribal blackmail and uphold justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Judiciary \u2014 to ensure that rulings are respected and implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Community \u2014 to monitor this unfolding injustice and support Nigeria\u2019s democratic integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You cannot force people into silence. You cannot colonize the future with lies from the past. You cannot be a landlord where you pay rent. You cannot wear a crown that history never placed on your head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truth may be delayed. But it cannot be defeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enough is enough.
Let the system do its job.
Let the truth be free.
Let Warri breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signed:
Miebi Thomp
President,
Concerned Indigenous Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Uche Alvin MEMORANDUM TO INEC, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND ALL CONCERNED STAKEHOLDERS RE: WARRI…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[1140,1141],"class_list":["post-4358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-warri-ward-delineation-delay-a-betrayal-of-justice","tag-mockery-of-indigeneity___says-concerned-ijaw-group"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0669-1.jpg?fit=300%2C168&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4729,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/08\/22\/we-reject-inecs-planned-continuous-voters-registration-until-the-supreme-court-ordered-ward-delineation-final-report-is-implemented___says-concerned-stakeholders-of-warri-fe\/","url_meta":{"origin":4358,"position":0},"title":"\u201cWe Reject INEC\u2019s Planned Continuous Voters Registration Until The Supreme Court Ordered Ward Delineation Final Report Is Implemented\u201d___Says Concerned Stakeholders Of Warri Federal Constituency","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"August 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Uche Alvin PROTEST PETITION TO INEC From: Concerned Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency To: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)Date: [22\/8\/2025] SUBJECT: WE REJECT CVR UNTIL YOU ANNOUNCE THE SUPREME COURT\u2013ORDERED FINAL DELINEATION RESULT INEC, enough is enough! 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Stakeholders Writes Open Letter To President Tinubu, INEC, NSA, International Communities Over The Delayed Implementation Of Warri Federal Constituency Delineation Report","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"January 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Uche Alvin OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT, THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), THE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY From: Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal ConstituencyDate: 17 January 2026 WHEN THE LAW IS FINISHED BUT JUSTICE IS HELD HOSTAGE This letter does not arrive gently. It arrives\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/img_6739.jpg?fit=743%2C412&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/img_6739.jpg?fit=743%2C412&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/img_6739.jpg?fit=743%2C412&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/img_6739.jpg?fit=743%2C412&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfDfBE-18i","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}