More than 74 houses have been destroyed and several lives lost in a protracted communal crisis affecting Ijaw communities in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State.

The conflict, which began in Okomu, has since spread to neighbouring communities including Agbede, Oweike, and Okorodudu, despite earlier interventions by the Ijaw National Congress.

In a bid to restore peace, Ijaw traditional rulers from Ondo, Edo, Delta, and Bayelsa States convened a high-level stakeholders? meeting in Benin City, where they appointed Chief Sunny Ajele to lead a resolution committee tasked with ending the violence.

The monarchs called on all factions to lay down arms and embrace dialogue in the interest of peace and community development.

Present at the meeting were notable traditional rulers including HRM William Ogoba (Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom), HRM Zacheus Egbunu (Pere of Arogbo Kingdom), HRM Joel Ibane (Pere of Iduwini Kingdom), HRM Capt. King Frank Okiakpe (Pere of Gbaraun Kingdom), HRM Stephen Oyabebefa Ebikeme (Pere of Poromor Kingdom), HRM Godwin Ogunoyibo (Pere of Olodiama), HRM Gbebokedi Ajiroba (Pere of Tubutoru), and HRM Roman Ikiyouseigha (Pere of Furupagha).

Speaking after the committee?s inauguration, Chief Ajele said the peace panel would engage all critical stakeholders to identify the root causes of the conflict and recommend lasting solutions.

According to Ajiele, ?This crisis has been lingering for over three years now without a solution. INC came but couldn?t do much. Prominent ijaw people tried but were also frustrated out. The major community is Okomu but the crisis escalated to other areas where they killed some people and burned down houses including lawrence?s boys.

?In Agbede community, they burnt over 30 houses. In Winke community, they destroyed about 18 houses and in Okorodudu, six houses were burnt. Most security men are afraid to go to the waterside. That is where a certain militant leader came from.

?But traditional rulers told the militant leader to surrender his tools which he never did. The military and the state?s vigilante invaded his community, destroyed his property, and killed his boy. He managed to escape but came back with a reprisal attack on those he fingered to have let out his secrets to the government amongst his kinsmen and this eventually escalated.

?What we want to do now as a committee is to bring them together under one roof to live as one and work with security agents to do a thorough work in the waterside areas to ensure peace return to the Okomu community?.

He further said the divide and rule tactics by immediate past administration exacerbated the crisis. (The Nation)

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