Residents Clash as Delta State Considers New Sub-Palace

The Itsekiri and Urhobo-speaking communities in Delta State are set for a showdown over a sub-palace in Sapele, Sapele Local Government Area of the state.

While the Alema of Warri Kingdom, Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, has cautioned the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom against actions he said could cause a communal crisis between Sapele and Itsekiri people, the Orodje is said to have ignored the warning and went ahead to lay the foundation of a sub-palace in the town.

Uduaghan, who disproved claims that Sapele is exclusively owned by the Okpe people and argued that historical records support the position that Sapele belongs to the Itsekiri people, said the Orodje did not agree with such.

In a press statement, Uduaghan said the Orodje should restrict his activities to the 510 acres of land granted to the Okpe people in the judgment of Chief Ayomanor v. Ginuwa (11 JELR 81222, W.A.C.A).

He warned that any development outside the area covered by the court judgment could heighten tensions and provoke communal disputes in Sapele, arguing that the court judgment often cited by the Okpe did not confer ownership of the town.

He cited a 1930 colonial intelligence report on the Okpe Sobo Clan, which listed recognized Okpe villages as Amukpe, Elume, Orerokpe, and Gbukurusu, noting that Sapele was not mentioned.

The Alema of Warri Kingdom, who oversees Ugbekoko, Utonyatsere, Ajimele, Aji Dore, Irakpa, and other Itsekiri communities in Sapele under the authority of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, said the judgment in Chief Ayomanor v. Ginuwa merely granted land to the Okpe people.

He maintained that the ruling did not transfer ownership of Sapele, insisting that the town has, from time immemorial, been inhabited by the Itsekiri people.