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Residents of Odun Ebiwonjumi Community in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have protested an alleged attempt by some Itsekiri people to lay claim to their ancestral land.
The protesters, who staged a peaceful demonstration in the community on Thursday, carried placards demanding government intervention and adequate protection of their community against what they described as an encroachment on their ancestral territory.
The dispute, according to the protesters, was heightened by moves to construct a concrete jetty in the community by the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission.
Speaking on behalf of the community, one of its indigenes, Busayo Ebiniyi, said the relationship between the Ilaje and Itsekiri peoples had historically been cordial, characterised by trade, friendship and intermarriage.
He, however, expressed concern over what he described as recent developments capable of threatening the longstanding peaceful relationship between the two groups.
“The Itsekiri nationalities have been friends and fraternised with us for decades, permit me to say for generations,” Ebiniyi said.
He maintained that Odun Ebiwonjumi remained an ancestral settlement in Ilaje Local Government Area and that its people owed their allegiance to the Ondo State Government.
Ebiniyi said the community was part of a wider territorial dispute involving several coastal settlements, listing Odun Makin, Ilu Titun, Odun Odunjo, Odun Maha, Eke Nla, Eke Kekere, Ubajakere, Eke Itiola, Odun Okoro, Odun Yonren, Odun Beku, Odun Ogungbeje, Odun Oyinbo, Odun Oriretan, Ubale Kekere, Ubale Nla, Ikuyinminu and Odun Igo.
According to him, the communities are distinct Ilaje settlements with longstanding identities as oil-producing communities.
He appealed to the Ondo and Delta State governments, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to intervene before the disagreement degenerates into violence.
“We want to plead with the governments of Ondo and Delta states to go all out for government-to-government agreements and assemble elders of both Ilaje and Itsekiri communities so that we will be able to dialogue on the essence of peace rather than war,” he said.
Another community leader, Olumide Ebiwonjumi, insisted that Odun Ebiwonjumi was located in Ondo State and remained under Ilaje Local Government Area and Ugbo Kingdom.
He explained that the name Ebiwonjumi was inherited from the community’s forefathers, adding that the settlement had historically been associated with Ondo State institutions and structures.
Ebiwonjumi also recalled the community’s participation in oil-producing associations before the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, including the Ultimate Oil Producing Community Association and the Ilaje Eight United Oil Producing Communities Association.
He said government projects executed in the area by successive Ondo State administrations further demonstrated the community’s longstanding relationship with the state.
The Baale of Odun Ebiwonjumi, Chief Orimisan Ebiwonjumi, also reaffirmed the community’s position, saying successive Ondo State governments had implemented projects in the area.
Chief Ebiwonjumi alleged that residents of six Itsekiri communities recently entered Odun Ebiwonjumi with arms and ammunition while laying claim to the settlement.
He called on the Ondo State Government to provide basic infrastructure, including potable water, healthcare facilities, housing, solar-powered electricity and a signpost clearly identifying the community as part of Ondo State.
The community leaders further alleged that the renewed disagreement was linked to the presence of crude oil resources in the area.
While stressing their preference for peace, Chief Ebiwonjumi warned that the community would resist any attempt to dispossess its people of their ancestral land.
He urged the Federal Government, the Ondo and Delta State governments and traditional rulers to urgently intervene, warning that failure to resolve the dispute could heighten tension and trigger an avoidable crisis in the coastal communities.
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