By Emmanuel Ogoigbe
The Alema of Warri Kingdom, Chief Emmanuel tselomi Uduaghan, has cautioned the Orodje of Okpe to confine his authority and activities strictly to the 510 acres of land granted to the Okpe people by the judgement in Chief Ayomanor v. Ginuwa II (W.A.C.A), warning that any action beyond the scope of the ruling could trigger a fresh communal crisis in Sapele.
Uduaghan gave the warning on Saturday while reacting to reports of a proposed foundation-laying ceremony for a sub-palace by the Orodje of Okpe in Sapele town. He stressed that such an exercise must be carried out strictly within the land covered by the court judgement.
“I sincerely hope that the proposed foundation-laying ceremony of the sub-palace by the Orodje of Okpe is within the 510 acres granted to the Okpes in the judgement of Chief Ayomanor v. Ginuwa II (W.A.C.A), as anything outside this will be far-reaching and amount to an invitation to communal crisis in Sapele. Such actions will be resisted by every legal means possible,” Uduaghan warned.
He dismissed claims by the Okpe people that the judgement conferred ownership of Sapele on them, clarifying that the ruling only granted a clearly defined parcel of land and not the entire town.
According to him, historical records and colonial intelligence reports have consistently shown that Sapele is not an exclusive settlement of the Okpe people but part of the ancestral territories of the Itsekiri Nation.
Uduaghan referenced the 1930 colonial Intelligence Report on the Okpe Sobo Clan, which, he noted, listed prominent Okpe villages as Amukpe, Elume, Orerokpe and Gbukurusu, without mentioning Sapele.
The Alema of Warri, who said he administers Ugbekoko, Utonyatsere, Ajimele, Aji Dore, Irakpa and other Itsekiri communities in Sapele under the overlordship of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, maintained that Okpe claims over Sapele lack both legal and historical basis.
“The judgement in Chief Ayomanor v. Ginuwa II (W.A.C.A) did not grant ownership of Sapele to the Okpes. It only granted them 510 acres of land, the location of which is well known,” he stated.
He reiterated that Sapele has, from time immemorial, belonged to the Itsekiri people, warning that any attempt to extend Okpe authority beyond legally recognised boundaries would be firmly challenged.
“Sapele is not the exclusive town of the Okpe people. From time immemorial, Sapele belongs to the Itsekiri people,” Uduaghan said, urging all parties to respect the rule of law and avoid actions capable of undermining the fragile peace in the area.
