Activities in parts of Warri, Delta State, slowed down on Wednesday amid heightened ethnic tensions between the Itsekiri and Ijaw communities over the removal of coronation banners.
The crisis, which stems from the pulling down of billboards and posters marking the coronation anniversary of the Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh, HRM Monbene III, has triggered protests from Ijaw youths who accused the police of acting in collusion with Itsekiri groups.
Security was tightened across the oil city as armed operatives mounted several stop-and-search checkpoints along the Warri/Sapele Road from Okere Roundabout to Ugbuwangue, disrupting free movement.
Despite a peace meeting convened at the Warri Police Area Command, fresh violence erupted around 5 p.m. on Tuesday. An Ijaw youth was injured in the clash, though police spokesman SP Bright Edafe clarified on Wednesday that the victim “was not shot.”
Meanwhile, the Ugbajo Itsekiri Youths alleged that four of their members were abducted during the unrest and taken away in a speedboat. In a Facebook broadcast, their legal adviser, Solomon, condemned the incident and denied Itsekiri involvement in removing the controversial banners.
“No Itsekiri youth went there to destroy the banners of their king,” Solomon said, urging the state government and security agencies to intervene swiftly and rescue the missing youths. He also cited three separate court rulings barring the Ogbe-Ijoh from laying claims to land within Warri South LGA, accusing them of provoking fresh territorial tensions.
In a related development, the Iwere Indigenous People’s Movement (IIPM) called on President Bola Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to act before the crisis escalates further.
The group, in a statement signed by six leaders including Emiko Oghomienor and Ofoyeju Izuagie, alleged that Itsekiri voters were attacked while returning from the INEC CVR center in Ogbe-Ijoh, with some still missing. IIPM urged INEC to relocate its biometric registration machines to a neutral Itsekiri community in Warri South-West to safeguard lives.
A visit by our reporter on Wednesday morning confirmed that the disputed banners had been restored. However, several shops near Central Hospital, Warri, remained closed, while commercial drivers complained that police checkpoints were being used to extort money in the already tense environment.
As of press time, neither the Warri South Local Government Council nor the Delta State Government had issued an official statement on the crisis.
