•Urge Tinubu, NSA to intervene

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

Palpable tension has enveloped some parts of Warri as the people of Ijaghala and Kantu communities, occupied by Itsekiris, in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State have decried alleged attempt by the Ijaws of Gbaramatu to forcefully take over their land.

They maintained that Ijaghala land is owned by Itsekiri’s Ugborodo community, while that of Kantu land is owned by Itsekiri’s Omadino community, both in Warri kingdom under the lordship of Olu of Warri.

A prominent indigene of Ijaghala and Kantu communities, Alex Oritsegbeyiwa Eyengho, said Thursday that the clarification became necessary following moves by the Ijaws of Gbaramatu to annex the two communities.

He accused prominent Ijaws of handing down “gun-on-the-head reprieve conditions” to the leadership of Kantu and Ijaghala communities to announce that the two communities were owned by Gbaramatu-Ijaw, whereas “Ijaghala land is owned by Ugborodo community, Kantu land is owned by Omadino community, both in Warri Kingdom under the Olu of Warri”.

Eyengho noted that: “Most of the people of Ijaghala and Kantu are by birth partly Itsekiri and Ijaw ethnic groups in Delta State,” adding that the prominent Ijaw man had successfully got some Kantu people, under duress to address a press conference claiming they were from Gbaramatu and have fixed Friday for Ijaghala community to follow suit.

He said: “Ijaghala community is a peaceful island located along the Escravos River in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State. In the same vein, Kantu is a peaceful community located in a creek off the Escravos River.

“Most of the people of Ijaghala and Kantu are by birth partly Itsekiri and Ijaw ethnic groups in Delta State. However, the issue of ownership of both Ijaghala and Kantu lands have been litigated by the Itsekiri (Ugborodo and Omadino communities) versus the Ijaws of Gbaramatu, and long settled by courts of competent jurisdictions, with the judgments known to parties and the public.

“Simpliciter, while Ijaghala land is owned by Ugborodo community, Kantu land is owned by Omadino community, both in Warri Kingdom, under the Olu of Warri. This urgent save-our-soul (SOS) cry is to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governor of Delta State and the Nigerian security agencies.

“It is a cry borne out of Ijaghala and Kantu existential threat in the hands of the Ijaws, particularly those of Gbaramatu. The death and arson threats issued to Ijaghala, Kantu, Obodo, Omadino, Ugborodo and other Itsekiri communities became intense and indeed climaxed recently, when videos made by the spokesman of Gbaramatu-Ijaw, Godspower Gbenekama, and some other Ijaw youths started trending on various social media platforms.”

Eyengho alleged that the conditions given by Ijaws to Kantu and Ijaghala communities is that the leadership of both communities should compulsorily address a press conference, where they must announce to the world that the Gbaramatu-Ijaw owns both communities, failing which both communities shall be pulverized, sacked and the occupants killed!

“They have successfully got some Kantu people under duress to address the said press conference, and have fixed Friday, June 13, 2025 for the Ijaghala community to follow suit. Since the very unwilling Ijaghala community is next, there is palpable tension everywhere,” he added.

Eyengho recalled that during the wake of the needless fratricidal Warri crisis in the late 90s, Ijaghala community was the first community along the Escravos River to be completely pulverized and sacked by Ijaws of Gbaramatu and as such made indigenes and residents of the community to become internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria for over a decade, adding: “They did it before. They can do it again.

“At some point, the leadership of Ijaghala community was pressured to publish that the community wishes to leave Madangho Ward in Ugborodo Federated Communities and join Gbaramatu Ward. Apparently, the Ijaws are vexed that Ijaghala was captured by INEC and other government official documents as an Itsekiri community.

“The community of course warded off the pressure. Our position has always been that the three units currently in Ijaghala community are integral part of Madangho Ward in Ugborodo Federated Communities. We cannot exit this ward for any reason and join Gbaramatu Ward. If anything, we are pushing for a distinct ward from our three units to be known as Ijaghala Ward.

“This explains why the Ijaws fraudulently removed one of the three units in Ijaghala under Madangho Ward, and added it to the Gbaramatu ward in the recent controversial INEC delineation exercise in the Warri Federal Constituency! However, we thank God that what INEC presented so far, is a proposal. Meaning that the status quo of the old wards/units structure in the Warri Federal Constituency, remains.”

Eyengho therefore urged President Bola Tinubu, the National Security Adviser and the Nigerian security agencies to immediately step in and stop the Ijaws from tormenting Ijaghala and Kantu communities with the threat to forcefully evacuate and pulverize the communities, if the leadership refuses to abide by their weird and insane orders, which of course all right-thinking Ijaghala and Kantu community indigenes were not willing to yield to (THISDAY)