The land dispute in Warri South Local Government of Delta State has taken a turn as the Odion-Ogisi family, represented by Igba of Warri and rights activist, Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, has issued a 30-day ultimatum to Urhobo communities of Oghorogbo, Eyekpimi, Onoriobe, and others to pay a one-pound land rent or face legal action.
Speaking at a news conference in Lagos, Chief Lori-Ogbebor invoked a historic 1928 Supreme Court judgment, which she said recognised the communities as tenants on lands owned by Odion-Ogisi family in modern-day Warri.
She stressed that despite nearly a century of patience, the family could no longer tolerate what she described as the “refusal of the tenants to honour a legal obligation.”
“This is not a new issue. The Supreme Court in 1928 gave a ruling that the Urhobo communities of Warri were tenants on Odion land.
‘‘That judgment stands till today,” she said. “We are giving them 30 days to comply and pay the one-pound annual rent. If they fail, we will resort to our usual legal battle.”
Chief Lori-Ogbebor noted that the original tenancy arrangement dated back to the colonial era, involving Oghorogbo, Eyekpimi, Oravo, and Onoriobe, who were granted two plots in Odion town by the Ogisi family.
The agreed rent was one pound annually—a symbolic token which, she stressed, has not been paid since the ruling.
“Odion/Ogisi family has exercised patience for nearly a century, but we can no longer tolerate the refusal to pay…’’
We declare today that the one pound, which the Urhobos have refused to remit, must now be paid. They should begin immediate payments,” she warned.
She condemned what she described as illegal land acquisitions by Urhobo groups beyond the scope of the original tenancy arrangement and court judgments.
“Regarding the lands they have acquired beyond the court ruling, those purchases are void,” she declared.
The elder stateswoman also criticized what she called the distortion of traditional authority and the usurpation of rights by the Urhobo communities, particularly the establishment of multiple kingships in areas traditionally under Itsekiri jurisdiction.
“The Odion-Ogisi family owns all the land from Odion to Okere. The Urhobo people were settled there by members of our family. They are tenants, and that is the legal truth affirmed by multiple judgments,” she said.
“The Itsekiri people, who are the original landowners, have only one king – the Olu of Warri. Meanwhile, our tenants, the Urhobo, have gone ahead to create two kings – one in Okere Urhobo and another in Agbasa. This is not only unlawful but disrespectful,” she added.
On the exclusion of other ethnic groups from land ownership in the area, Lori-Ogbebor emphasized: “The Ijaw are completely shut out of Warri South council land. They have no ownership claim there, contrary to what some of them assert.”
Despite the stern ultimatum, the Odion-Ogisi family indicated an openness to reconciliation with individuals who may have unknowingly purchased land under what they described as “false pretences.”
“We are open to discussions with those who mistakenly purchased land under misleading circumstances. They should not be afraid,” a family spokesperson said.
Positioning the Odion-Ogisi family as peace-loving and law-abiding, Lori-Ogbebor lamented years of what she described as exploitation of the family’s goodwill and heritage.
“We want the world to know that we are good people, but our kindness has been taken for granted. We have been pressured into submission, with no say in our own land,” she said. “It has reached a point where these individuals now lay claim to entire local government areas, both within their region and beyond. We maintain that we own the land stretching from Odion to Okere.”
She reiterated that the dispute remains a family matter between dissenting members and tenants, but one that must now be resolved within the bounds of law and history.
