RE: GBARAMATU KINGDOM SAY NO TO THE NAMING OF THE EXPORT PROCESSING ZONE (EPZ) AFTER“OGIDIGBEN”: A REJOINDER

His Excellency,

Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR,

President and Commander- In- Chief of the Armed Forces,

Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Your Excellency,

RE: GBARAMATU KINGDOM SAY NO TO THE NAMING OF THE EXPORT PROCESSING ZONE (EPZ) AFTER“OGIDIGBEN”

A REJOINDER

The attention of Benikrukru Community has been drawn to an advertorial issued by one Prince Ahmed Perry Atete and eight others purportedly acting on behalf of Ugborodo Community, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, published at pages 40-41 of the Vanguard Newspaper of 30^th July, 2014.

The kernel of their publication was to embark on a journey of falsehoods, deceits and mispresentation of facts to mislead the unsuspecting public and to whip up sentiments. In the said advertorial which is highly provocative and mischievous, the authors made the following statement inter alia:

The fact that Gbaramatu people occupied land allowed them by Ugborodo people was also confirmed in 1995 by an Ijaw king from Bayelsa State, His Highness, Ebinanowei of Gbaran who gave evidence in Suit No. W/124/76 for the Benikrukru people of Gbaramatu kingdom and under cross- examination stated as follows: “I heard that Ugborodo people gave land to Benikrukru people to settle.”

Benikrukru Community being only one of the many communities that make up Gbaramatu Kingdom does not wish to join issues with the persons who made the publication but wish to place on record the fact that they were not placed on the land they now occupy as Benikrukru Community by anybody, least of all, the Ugborodo people. Benikrurkru Community has been occupying the portion of lands it has always occupied from time immemorial, as aborigines.

Ordinarily, we would not have in anyway responded to this baseless advertorial and spurious claim from the authors of that publication. However, for the purpose of setting the records straight and the fact that some persons out there may take seriously what these confused elements have stated in their baseless publication concerning Benikrukru Community and the land occupied by the Benikrukru Community, we have decided to state clearly that what these mischievous persons stated in their publication is false, plain and simple.

The authors of the said publication have allegedly paraded themselves as mouthpiece of Ugborodo Community, but they are not recognised by the Ugborodo Community. Their views should not be taken seriously. They should be ignored as empty cans that make a loud noise, who are only trying to fan embers of discord and conflict.

The Benikrukru People find the above-quoted spurious statement ridiculous and vexatious; and one capable of inciting people to engage in altercations which could heat up the polity that could escalate to proportions that would be difficult to contain and control. Obviously, those who made the publication have self-serving interests and do not speak the minds of well-meaning persons of the Ugborodo Community or the Itsekiri nation for that matter. On that statement, we wish to state firstly, that Bayelsa State was not in existence as at 1995. Bayelsa State was created on October 1, 1996. Secondly, we are not aware of any king in Bayelsa State who goes by the appellation of“His Highness, Ebinanowei of Gbaran.”

Going to the substance of the statement, every lawyer as well as an enlightened and right-thinking person knows that hearsay evidence is not only unreliable, but also inadmissible to prove a fact in issue. The statement “I heard that Ugborodo people gave land to Benikrukru people to settle”is not only unreliable, but it is inadmissible in law. The Benikrukru Community cannot recall where such statement was made. To have cited this kind of“I heard that Ugborodo people gave land to Benikrukru people to settle” statement shows the kind of persons the authors are- bereft of any civilized ideas and dubious in character. Even if for the sake of argument it is assumed that such statement was made during the trial of a case in court, such evidence would normally be discountenanced by the court particularly as the source of the so-called information was not named or called in the course of the trial.

We are not surprised at the spurious claims of Prince Ahmed Perry Atete and his co-travellers. It is a manifestation of a grand design to carry out the expansionist intention and ambition of the authors by laying claims to lands which for centuries have been in undisputed possession of the peace loving people of Benikrukru Community. They are also doing the same to their Itsekiri sister communities with whom they have been engaged in a long drawn legal battle in court. Obviously, the Ugborodo Land has almost been completely swallowed up by the Atlantic Ocean. The authors appear to be frantically looking for lands to annex wherein to pitch their tent.

We find it mischievous of the authors to say that the Ugborodo people allowed us to stay in our lands and restrict themselves to the narrow strip of land they presently occupy by the river bank with drastically reduced shore that is gradually being swallowed up by the river. We wish to further ask why it is that the Itsekiri of Ugborodo that claim to have so much land have not relocated from the seashore to settle in the lands they claim they own!

We will like to seize this medium to state clearly that the action undertaken by the authors of this advertorial and their masterminds is a guise to annex Ijaw/Benikrukru land and to provoke the good people of Benikrukru Community of Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State for reasons we cannot fathom. Benikrukru is a peace loving Community with responsible Elders and Leaders. It would be absurd to allow some narrow-minded and dubious people with mischievous intentions such as the likes of Prince Ahmed Perry Atete and his cohorts to allow the now peaceful Delta State to be drawn into yet another round of crisis, confusion and chaos by their provocative, mischievous and misguided publication.

We wish to plead with your Excellency, Mr. President and the Delta State Government to, as a matter of urgency, call the authors of the said publication to order. We have had enough of crises in Delta State. It is not the prerogative of any person or group of persons to oppress and intimidate others to acquire what does not belong to them. They should be advised to desist from these misguided and misleading publications.

Thank you.

Cc:

His Excellency,

Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, CON,

Executive Governor, Delta State,

Government House, Asaba.

The Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Abuja

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Abuja

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) , Abuja

Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Abuja

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Abuja

Commissioner of Police, Asaba, Delta State