BURUTU— YAYOROGBENE, an Ijaw community in Burutu Local Government Area, Delta State, has petitioned the Commissioner of Police in the state over a purported plan by some leaders from a neighbouring community to murder its community leader, Comrade Austin Ozobo, over a land dispute. The community in a letter, dated March 19, by its solicitor, Omemiroro Ogedegbe Esq, said Yayorogbene community was having a disagreement over the host rights of the operational area of Ten Oil Petroleum and Energy Services in crude oil well, OPL 281, in Burutu local government area.

He said as soon as Ozobo, the national president of Ijaw People’s Development Initiative, IPDI, brought to public knowledge the fact that the land allegedly in dispute between Yayorogbene and Ekroogbene had long been settled by Burutu Customary Court, the suspects issued him a death threat on February 27. The community said it thought the threat could be ignored, but its leader continued to get persistent calls from a MTN number, threatening to murder Ozobo because of his resolve to defend his community.

According to the lawyer, the caller who had refused to disclose his identity vowed to locate the activist with a view of eliminating him wherever he could be found and that has prompted him to go into hiding. He said that thugs and hired assassins have at the behest of the suspects have continued to trail his client so as to assassinate him. Ogedegbe asserted the court dismissed suit number, BACC/02/2013, instituted by Ekorogbene community against Yayorogbene community and ordered the former to pay a damage of N20, 000 to the latter.