Council of Chiefs in Warri Demands Investigation Into Ethnic Crisis in Delta

The Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has been asked to immediately form a Panel of Inquiry to look into the interethnic conflict between the Itsekiri and Ijaw people in the state’s Warri Federal Constituency.

Addressing reporters at the Palace of the Olu of Warri, the Itsekiri Traditional Council, acting under the auspices of the Warri Council of Chiefs, made this call. They took a stance on the recent contentious removal of banners marking the 10th anniversary of the coronation of the Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri Kingdom, HRM Couple Mackson Oromoni, Monbene III, from certain areas of Warri city, stating that the aforementioned localities are under Itsekiri jurisdiction.

This is our territory, said High Chief Mene Brown, the Ogwa-Olusan of Warri Kingdom, speaking on behalf of the Council of Chiefs. We don’t want it misrepresented. Our stance is peaceful.

The Inspector-General of Police was urged by High Chief Mene “to immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the recent killing of Dele Ogunbayo in the Pessu area of Warri on Thursday, September 18, 2025.” The government ought to reconsider its practice of giving private citizens control over the security system.

Furthermore, the Itsekiri Traditional Council urged HRM Monbene III, the Ogbe-Ijoh monarch, to “promptly cause to be removed all the said banners and billboards mounted in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State of Nigeria, same being outside the reign of His Majesty by the judgment of the Lower Court that His Majesty has appealed against.”

“We call on His Excellency, the Governor of Delta State, to please urgently do the necessary, which is to cause a proper investigation of this development with a view to calling on all those involved to order; as they cannot be seen serving in the same government they are seeking to destabilize it,” Mr. High Chief Mene continued.

We recognize that this is a festering situation that he regrettably inherited rather than started. We hope that he will have the discernment and resources necessary to take the necessary action to not just ease the tension but also to settle it amicably.

“Disregard for the rule of law and the constant balancing act between the fist and the head are more likely to produce unrest and disturb the calm in any society. It is only reasonable to conclude that the first approach, which has come to define certain of the characters, poses a greater threat to the area’s peace and serenity than it does to respect for the law.

The Itsekiris as a people have continuously asked the national, state, and local governments to uphold the law without caring whose ox gets gored.

“We carried out our investigations for the first 48 hours, immediately after the incident occurred, the position of the military was quite clear that they were not involved at all,” said Chief Robinson Ariyo, Egogo of Warri Kingdom, who also spoke.

“We want to accept what the military guys said in the first 48 hours (about the horrible death of Ogunbayo), not the most recent statement released 72 hours later. The men cannot be seen to be approving and reprimanding.

The military brought up the characteristics of guns. Our response to an emergency situation differs from our response to a routine situation. I have an Ijaw WhatsApp group threatening to assassinate someone in Pessu. This man (Dele Ogunbayo) was shot and killed less than six hours earlier.

This is not a moment for us to say we should start talking about social media, we are talking about lives,” Chief Ariyo, a lawyer, said in response to a journalist’s question on Governor Oborevwori’s statement on Friday, September 19, 2025.

The protection of people and property is the government’s top priority. The government will regard a person’s murder to be homicide.

“A government is not a government if it is unable to fulfill its responsibility to safeguard people and property. Regardless of tribe, every other human being should be affected by a person’s death.