Protest: Tell your children, husbands to give peace a chance – group tells Aladja women

•Urges Oborevwori to ignore mischiefs contain in the protest

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

A renowned group under the auspices of OGBE-IJOH LEADERS OF THOUGHT has described the protest by Aladja women to end crisis between the two communities as charade, while urging them to condemn unprovoked and unwarranted attacks carried out by their children and husbands against peace loving Ogbe-Ijoh community.

This is according to a petition to the governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori which was signed on behalf of the group by Chief M. Keme, Hon. Lucky Oromoni, Chief Roland Takembo, Chief Gorden Donye, Chief David Omare, Hon. Michael Oweikpodor on Friday 14th July, 2023.

The petition which a copy was forwarded to the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, Asaba and the Director of the State Security Services Delta State, Asaba said the Aladja women could have also protest against blocking and shutting down of the only access road between the two communities by their children and their husbands.

The petition titled, ‘RE: PROTEST: ALADJA WOMEN ON ALADJA/OGBE-IJOH CRISIS’ said: “The Ogbe-Ijoh Leaders of Thought view with consternation the purported protest by some women of Aladja Community and their feigned interest in calling on the state Governor of Delta State to end this protracted Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh Crisis. While the purpose of this statement is not to join issues with our Aladja neighbours or their women who embarked on the charade called protest, we are constrained to set the record straight because of our concern that a lie left to fester for too long soon assumes the toga of truth.

“According to the report that was made available to us, the alleged protest by Aladja Women was triggered by the move of the Chairman of Warri Southwest Local Government Council, Hon Taiye Tuoyo to use military personnel to secure building materials being transported to the councils Secretariat in Ogbe-Ijoh, headquarters of the council, But nothing could be farther from the truth, as their protest was borne of their guilty conscience and fear of possible reprisal attacks after Aladja warriors dastardly shot and almost killed two female students (aged 13 and 23) of Ogbe-Ijoh in the early hours of Wednesday, 12th July 2023.

Group averred that it had been the modus operandi of the Aladja people to attack and run to the press with false stories depicting the opposite of what transpired, the protest was hastily convened to portray Ogbe-Ijoh people, who are indeed the victims, as attackers and aggressors”.

They further narrated, “It is sad that the so-called Mothers, who protested and called for the resolution of the crisis, failed to display any sense of humanity to condemn and sympathize with our people on the unprovoked gruesome attack that could have cost us two promising children. They did not impress on their children and husbands the need to give peace a chance or to halt unprovoked and unwarranted attacks on our peace-loving people.

“It is also particularly strange that they attempted, without success, to drag in Hon Tuoyo and Major Solomon Nwakwuda, in the mix of the clash that their people conceived and carried out on innocent school girls. They failed to state the offence(s) committed by those men because they know that they have not committed any and were merely taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of materials being deployed to the council.

“It is also necessary to affirm that the measures by Hon Tuoyo are borne out of fear of past experiences where materials and persons coming into Ogbe-Ijoh from the mainland are randomly attacked, maimed, and even materials destroyed or hijacked. One question begging for an answer is, ‘Were the innocent and hapless students shot because of the council chairman moving building materials through the only access road to the council secretariat in Ogbe-Ijoh? The protest is callous and a clear display of a lack of humanity and shows moral decadence, a lack of respect for human lives and humanity as evidenced in the consistent and persistent attacks on Ogbe-Ijoh people in the last seven (7) years by Aladja youths.

“The protest and protesters were riddled with falsehoods and outright dishonesty which has become the norm for the Aladja people. For instance, they alleged that the Ogbe-Ijoh people breached several peace accords reached on the road to resolving this protracted communal conflict. But nothing is farther from the truth, as it established on numerous occasions that the people of Aladja consistently violated peace accords leading to several Police invitations, including of their clan head, the Ovie of Udu, who resides and operates from Aladja Community.

“It is pertinent, for the record, to remind these ‘mothers’ and their sponsors, that the Police Authorities in a letter dated 26th May 2016, and signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mu’ Azu Mohammed, invited HRM E.B.O. Delekpe, Ohworu 1 the Ovie of Udu Kingdom, for the question on issues relating to breach of peace accords by Aladja people.

“Perhaps, at this point, it is important to draw Your Excellency’ s attention to the gimmicks used by Aladja community leaders to escalate crisis whenever a new Government comes on board. They use this antic of attacks and protests to draw the attention of the new Government to the boundary dispute, and also as an opportunity to negotiate with Government for political relevance.

“For instance, in 1995, the Military Government in Delta State constituted Justice Dan Azinge’s Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which report the former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan wanted to implement. In their usual antic, they prevented the movement of both humans and materials to Ogbe-Ijoh to get the attention of the government. They claimed that the said report was compromised, leading Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan to constitute another Judicial Commission of Inquiry, this time, led by Justice Franklyn Nwulu on the same subject matter. Their hope and intention were that the report of this inquiry would be to their advantage, but the two Commissions’ reports were similar because the facts always speak for themselves.

“When the Government of Emmanuel Uduaghan wanted to implement the report of Justice Franklyn Nwulu’ s Judicial Commission of Inquiry, the Aladja people protested and did all they could to frustrate the implementation of the Government decision. On the 3rd of March, 2015, Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh communities entered an agreement allowing Delta State Government to implement the said report. The then Deputy Governor Prof Amos Agbe Utuama SAN, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Charles Ajuyah SAN, signed for Delta State Government; immediate past Inspector General of Police who was then Commissioner of Police Delta State, Mr. Alkali Baba Usma and Mrs. F.O. Oghre-Ikanone the then Director State Security Services Delta State, signed for Security agencies.

“Sadly, again, as they are wont to do, when the immediate past Governor, Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa came on board, they carried out another protest. This informed the decision of the former Governor to invite all parties to Government House Asaba, intending to complete the demarcation process initiated by his predecessor. Yet, for the umpteenth time, they kicked against it. Due to blackmail and pressure, the government of Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa constituted the 3rd Panel of Inquiry on the same subject matter, which also came up with its reports. Still, the findings could not be implemented because the Aladja people refused to accept or allow Government to fulfill them.

“The terms of reference of the third panel of inquiry, among others, were to identify and demarcate the boundary of Udu local Government which Aladja belongs, and Warri South West, to which Ogbe-Ijoh belongs, as well as the extent of land in dispute. The panel of inquiry, based on the 1955 boundary law, was able to identify the boundary of the two local!government areas, and erected beacons tagged UDU/WSW 01 to UDU/WSW 20. The panel of inquiry at the end of the two local governments at the Forcados end erected pillar UDU/WSW 20, UDU/WSW 19, and at the Warri River end erected pillar UDU/WSW 01, which Aladja Community destroyed. The panel’ s findings show the extent of disputed land to be 289.9 hectares, which Aladja Community fought against and used the instrument of threats, intimidations, and blackmails on members of the panel, especially the Chairman and Secretary, and manipulated it to over a thousand hectares.

“Your Excellency, we took the time to explain all these to you for your better understanding of the subject matter as it relates to the boundary dispute.

“The recalcitrant attitude of the Aladja people led the Ogbe-Ijoh people to file a suit in the Warri Judicial Division, which parties have already joined issues. Your Excellency, as the governor, is also a party in the suit.

“As we are following this through all legal and lawful means, we urge Your Excellency to provide Security checkpoints along the Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh access road pending the hearing and determination of the said suit. Aladja and Isaba seem to have some relative peace because the matter between them was litigated and a clear winner emerged up to the Court of Appeal level, and it is now at the apex-Supreme Court

“Therefore, we humbly urged Your Excellency to, as a matter of public interest, encourage parties to concentrate on the ongoing Court case on the one hand and the other hand provide the needed security to allow the free flow of goods and services in the Aladja/Ogbe- Ijoh road, which is the only access road to Ogbe-Ijoh. It is unlawful and criminal for a community to deprive others of the use of a government access road to their destinations simply because it passes through their community”, the group narrated.