By Emma Amaize

WARRI—THE Ogbe-Ijoh/Warri Clan Governing Council, Warri South-West Local Government Area and Sokebolou/Yokiri People’s Congress, Ogulagha Kingdom, Burutu Local Government Area, both in Delta State, separately joined issues, yesterday, with Itsekiri communities of Ugbori and Aja-Edede over the ownership of disputed lands at Miller Waterside, Warri and the $16 billion Export Processing Zone, EPZ, Ogidigben.

Ogbe-Ijoh council, in a statement by its Chairman, Lucky Oromoni, described as baseless, the claim by the Itsekiri people of Ugbori that Lotiebiri people, forcefully chased away from their homeland by government with the help of soldiers, who destroyed their property, were illegal occupants of the land.

He said: “The fact of Ogbe-Ijoh ownership of the Lotiebiri quarters/community, by the Miller Waterside on the NPA Expressway is well established and confirmed by various intelligence reports about land ownership in Warri and even Itsekiri leader, Chief Dore Numa, before he died, in his historic letter to the Ogbe-Ijoh people through the Resident of Warri on November 10, 1923.

“Also, contrary to the claim by Ugbori community, the Government of Delta State has not at any time acquired the land in question from the Lotiebiti people of Ogbe-Ijoh as required by law.

“The Ogbe-Ijoh/Warri Kingdom reaffirms the demand of the youths of Lotiebiri that the Delta State Government should vacate the Lotiebiri land which they forcefully occupied and pay compensation for the illegal destruction of property. It is illegal, unjust and oppressive for the government to forcefully take over the land in question without due process of law.”

Sokebolou/Yokiri People’s Congress, in a statement by its Chairman, Mr. Bob Towei, said: “We are stating emphatically that Adedegbene belongs to the people of Sokebolou and Yokiri communities in Ogulagha Kingdom, Burutu council.

“The name Aja-Edede as claimed by the Itsekiri, is erroneous. They have no land in the area, not to talk of property rights because that land Adedegbene, as originally called, belongs to us, Ogulagha Kingdom.”