Delta community rejects govt’s peace moves with warring neighbours

The Okuama-Okolaba communal crisis in Delta State has taken a new twist as the Okolaba Federated Community in Bomadi Local Government Area has kicked against ongoing moves by the state government to resettle the troubled Okuama indigenes of Ughelli South LGA back into their devastated ancestral homes.

The Okolaba Federated Community described the Okuama indigenes as “strangers” in the troubled locality, saying they “have no basis claiming any land in the first instance because they never owned one.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Chairman, Okoloba Federated Community, Mr. Clement Koki, copies of which were made available to journalists in Warri on Tuesday.  

The statement insisted that “any hurried and haphazard approach to the dispute (by the government) will be like pouring water on top of the rock, which will not stand the test of time.”

Recall that the lingering boundary dispute between Okuama and Okoloba communities became a national discourse following the March 24, 2024, killing of 17 military officers and soldiers reportedly on a peace mission to Okuama. 

The Army, in what was believed to be a revenge mission, laid siege to Okuama and demolished the entire agrarian community thus forcing the indigenes to flee into the creeks for weeks, until the government called for the pullout of the invading troops and rehabilitation of the indigenes. 

The statement by the Okoloba Federated Community, while claiming to maintain ancestral boundary directly with Akugbene people, partly read, “Okuama farmers are from far away upland Ewu-Urhobo kingdom and are strangers to Akugbene who gave them portions of land to farm and fish.

“So, they do not have any basis for claiming any land in the first instance, because they never owned one. They should vacate all that land that they have craftily and aggressively grabbed, as we shall not allow even a foot of our God-given land to be occupied by them for whatever reasons.

“We will do everything legitimately possible, acting within the ambit of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to achieve just that, without taking laws into our hands.

“We are also willing and ready to support the security agencies, the state and Federal governments to effectively resolve the long-standing impasse but we add that the root cause of the dispute must be explored exhaustively because that is the only sure bet to a lasting peace. 

“We advise strongly that any hurried and haphazard approach to the dispute will be like pouring water on top of the rock, which will not stand the test of time, whilst we strongly wish and pray for peace and prosperity to reign in Delta State and of course Nigeria at large.”

While maintaining that Okoloba people are peace-loving, law-abiding, hospitable, benevolent and sociable, the statement further claimed that “The Okoloba Federated Community is the undisputable proprietary owner of all that fishing Lakes (Afou Donou, Agu Bolou (Meinturubobor Donou), Oge Donou, Agbakoropei Donou, Okirimeli Donou, Benmo Donou, etc). 

“All that farmlands, economic trees, territorial waters falling within the ancestral boundaries so elicited here above and that proprietary ownership and control has been peacefully established and maintained by Okoloba from time immemorial by collecting annual rents/royalties from strangers/settlers from various places (especially the Okuama Ewu-Urhobo) who come to farm on those lands and/or fish in those lakes in line with customary practice.”

It argued further that, “The Okuama people, on the other hand, are strangers from Ewu kingdom in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. They are farmers who came seeking safe havens and were given some portions of land by the Akugbene community (with whom we maintain direct ancestral boundaries on the Southern flank) to farm and fish. However, no sooner than they secured the portions of land for fishing and farming given to them by their benefactors that the Okuama strangers embarked on a wild and reckless ambition of land-grabbing and territorial expansion”.

“This land-grabbing disposition the Okuama started by encroaching on the land of their benefactors (Akugbene) straying beyond the portions given to them and that set them on a war path with the Akugbene who accommodated them when they needed shelter, resulting in series of altercations culminating in lawsuits that led to the 1945 judgment in favour of Akugbene.

“The 1945 judgment unequivocally affirmed their (Okuama) strangers/settlers status in consonance with the ‘Intelligence Report’ of the Commission of Inquiry set up to look into the root cause of the Akugbene / Okuama imbroglio. Not satisfied, they crossed our boundary line with Akugbene into Okoloba land which had also resulted in a series of intermittent conflicts between us right from the days of our forefathers. 

“The same Okuama people who accepted their stranger/settler status and were paying certain minimum rents to Okoloba for farming and fishing on our lands and fishing lakes for which we have evidence!

“That the crux of the intermittent conflicts between Okoloba and Okuama had been due to the resistance by Okoloba people towards the crafty and aggressive land-grabbing and territorial expansionist moves of the Okuama people, which came to the fore no sooner than they set foot on the land given to them by Akugbene people specifically for fishing and farming.”