Uduaghan Cautions Okpe Monarch Against Proposed Sub-Palace in Sapele

A prominent Itsekiri leader and the Alema of Warri Kingdom, Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, has advised the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom against actions that could spark a communal crisis between the Sapele and Itsekiri people in Delta State.

While the Orodje is said to be planning to lay the foundation for a sub-palace in the town, Uduaghan disputed the claim that the Okpe people exclusively own Sapele and argued that historical records support the position that Sapele belongs to the Itsekiri people.

In a press statement he issued in Asaba yesterday, 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, WACA).

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

He cited a 1930 colonial intelligence report on the Okpe Sobo Clan, which listed recognised 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 judgement in Chief Ayomanor v. Ginuwa merely granted land to the Okpe .

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.