WARRI — THE dispute over the ownership of five communities in Warri South-West Local Government area of Delta State yesterday stalled the on-going peaceful return of displaced Itsekiri to the areas, raising the fear of possible ethnic hostilities if not settled amicably.
Vanguard gathered that the refusal of the Ijaw Elders of Gbaramatu Kingdom to allow displaced Itsekiri back to Kantu, Sahara, Jalla/Opuroza, Ikporkpo and Opumami communities in Warri South-West has become a source of worry to members of the State Security Council headed by Governor James Ibori.
At the security meeting held in Warri yesterday and attended by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Commander of the Joint Security Task Force, Operation Restore Hope, Brig.-Gen. Elias Zamani the Commander of the 7th Battalion, Effurun and the Commander of the NNS, Delta, Captain Jacob Ajani, the issue of the refusal of the Ijaw to allow the Itsekiri back to the communities was discussed.
The extent to which the state government would intervene in the issue was not disclosed, but Vanguard gathered that the elders of the Itsekiri and the Gbaramatu may be called to a meeting to discuss the contentious issue and resolve it.
The Warri Ijaw/Itsekiri Grassroot Peace Forum (WIIGPF) was however called on to try on its own to prevail on both sides involved in the issue to sustain the peace agreement reached between the Ijaw and Itsekiri in Warri.
Vanguard reliably learnt that the state worry on the issue arose from the fact that it is a clear case of betrayal on the part of both ethnic groups that had agreed in their peace resolution titled “Dawn of a New Era” on peaceful return of displaced persons.
It was also gathered that the dispute on the true ownership of these communities has led to the disruption of work on the Ukrilodidi pipeline project of the Shell Petroleum Development Company being done by the B and B Construction in Kantu area.
Contacted yesterday on the development, a member of the Ijaw elders in Gbaramatu Kingdom who spoke with Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said any form of peace talk on the issue is welcome, “but the elders have resolved not to allow them or grant them return to Jalla, but we can allow them to Opuroza town. They (Itsekiri) have taken us for a ride for long and have been dealing with these oil companies, thereby collecting our needed funds. We have warned the companies to stop.”
He stated that “in the past, we, the Ijaw, due to our welcome attitude and low level of education allowed these people to act on our behalf as middlemen and they tricked us out, we are saying we won't allow it anymore.”
