I t all began in the early hours of Monday, last week, when the lingering boundary dispute between the people of Aladja community and Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom in Udu and Warri South-West Local Government Areas of Delta state, respectively, reared its ugly head, again.
And at the end of the violence, three dead bodies were found floating on the brackish waters of Warri river.
This was another result of the secret killings going on in the area. Sources from each of the warring communities claimed that their people were attacked simultaneously by aggressors from the two areas in the early hours of the fateful day.
But the cause and the reason for the attack could not be satisfactorily explained by members of both communities.
A prominent leader of the OgbeIjoh Kingdom, Chief Monday Keme, alleged that his people were brought under attack by assailants from Aladja community as early as 5:45am that day, adding that two persons, a policeman and a pastor, were among those who sustained injuries.
Keme said, “About 5.45am was when our people started hearing gunshots. Our neighbours, Aladja, made attempt to attack us. Even as I am talking to you now, I am still hearing gunshots and one mobile policeman stationed by the round about, when entering Ogbe-Ijoh at the entrance of the community, has been wounded.
“The wounded policeman is Sgt Ikouwel Nsikhe of the 51 Mobile Police Station, Oghara. Also wounded is Pastor Clement Pina. Many others have been wounded. Probably in the later hours, we would be able to give a clearer picture of the impact.
“As I speak with you now, there is still heavy exchange of gunfire going on between the two communities. But it was Aladja that came to attack us this morning. Nobody can say what is going to happen in the next few hours.”
He also took a swipe at the Delta State Government over the recurring violence between Ogbe-Ijoh and Aladja communities, saying, “Whatever happens, the Delta State Government should be held responsible.
This crisis has been lingering for many years and any responsible government should have no excuse for not resolving the issues.
“There is a law since 1955 setting boundaries for both communities. All that is needed is for government to uphold that law. Since that time, government has consistently not maintained that law. So, what now stopped Governor Okowa from maintaining that law?
“Okowa is a big disappointment to both communities. This is a governor who gathered all Ijaws and Urhobo traditional rulers at the Unity Hall on 15 December, 2016, where he said that the state was going to acquire a buffer zone; that is 289 hectares between both communities.
Up till now, he has not been able to clear the place”, he said. Defending the Aladja people, the President of Aladja Youths, Wisdom Onatomre, alleged that assailants from Ogbe-Ijoh started shooting sporadically from both ends of the community as early as 4:30am that day, causing panic among the people of Aladja.
He, however, could not confirm if there was any casualty. “Ogbe-Ijoh is at it again. Both sides have maintained and enjoyed relative peace for some time, but Aladja people were woken up with roaring guns by invading Ogbe-Ijoh people at about 4.30am.
“We have a police barricade at Iwhre, the main boundary post, but they attempted to shoot their way in through the Grammar School route, and we had only to resort to self-help to repel them.
We know they had trouble with Agbassa people in Warri yesterday, but we don’t understand why they decided to compromise the prevailing peace between us to attempt an invasion of Aladja today,” Onatomre said.
The acting spokesman of Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, Major Timi Ogobiri, claimed that the three dead bodies found floating on the Warri River were those of Ijaw youths.
The spokesman of IPDI particularly accused the Urhobos of Agbasa and Aladja indigenes as the masterminds of the killings, warning that Urhobos should not forget that they also lived in Ijaw settlements.
Ogobiri also called on Ijaws living in Urhobo lands to begin the process of returning home as a measure to avoid untimely death, alleging that an Urhobo killer squad had been targeting Ijaws within the Warri axis.
“It is shocking as we discovered three lifeless bodies suspected to be innocent Ijaws, who may have been killed and thrown into the river by some heartless Aladja and Agbasa indigenes.
“There have been several attacks against Ijaw in Warri. Uhrobo youths are now secretly going after Ijaws, irrespective of where they come from in Warri, with the intention of eliminating such persons. Several Ijaw are now rumoured to be missing from their residents in Warri.
“Those who are into this random and indiscriminate killing should know that nobody has a monopoly of violence. They should know that Uhrobo are still in Ijaw communities.” he added.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Delta State Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police Andrew Aniamaka, said that the command was in control of the situation in the areas.
He, however, declined to speak further on the matter.
