Prominent Itsekiri leader, businesswoman, hotelier and philanthropist, Chief Mrs. Rita Lori Ogbebor, on Friday raised the alarm over what she described as a “looming genocide” against the Itsekiri ethnic nationality in Delta State, warning that the situation could degenerate into full-scale conflict if urgent action is not taken by the Federal Government.
Addressing journalists at a press briefing, the Igba of Warri accused politicians of fueling ethnic tensions in the oil-rich Warri axis for selfish political and economic interests tied to control of oil resources.
According to her, the Itsekiri people are under coordinated attacks and intimidation from neighbouring ethnic groups, particularly the Ijaw and Urhobo, who she alleged recently held separate world press conferences calling on their kinsmen across the globe to unite against the Itsekiri.
“You may say the word genocide is harsh, but it is true. It is a fact,” Ogbebor declared. “There is a looming genocide against the Itsekiri, and the whole world, the President of this country and Nigerians must know that the Itsekiri are being battered.”
She recalled the violent Warri crisis between 1997 and 2003, which she said was triggered by disputes over local government headquarters and political structures allegedly manipulated by politicians.
The elder stateswoman accused former Delta State Governor James Ibori of worsening the crisis through the creation and relocation of local government structures without due process, a move she said ignited years of bloodshed in the region.
“For eight years they fought us,” she said. “What is at stake is the oil money. Every politician wants to control that area because of the oil wells in our land.”
Ogbebor maintained that the Itsekiri are the original owners of Warri land, insisting that all disputed territories had been adjudicated upon up to the Supreme Court in favour of the Itsekiri.
She described the Ijaw and Urhobo as settlers who later began laying claim to lands belonging to the Itsekiri.
“There is a judgment that says everybody in Warri except the Itsekiri is a settler,” she stated.
The Itsekiri leader warned that continued suppression and territorial encroachment could spark another round of violent conflict in the Niger Delta.
“Nigeria will wake up one morning and the whole area will be in flames,” she warned. “And then it will not be the Itsekiri alone; it will be a war.”
Ogbebor called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene by providing adequate protection for the Itsekiri people and revisiting past decisions surrounding ward and local government delineations in Warri.
She also renewed calls for the creation of a separate Warri State, arguing that the Itsekiri people deserve political autonomy and protection.
“We want Warri State,” she declared. “We were a nation on our own. Warri is viable and meets the conditions required for state creation.”
She further demanded the reversal of the relocation of the Warri South-West Local Government headquarters from Ogidigben to Ogbe-Ijaw, insisting that the original gazetted location should be restored.
Ogbebor also called for the enforcement of existing court judgments on disputed lands in Okere and other parts of Warri, stressing that failure to respect judicial pronouncements would continue to fuel unrest in the region.
The outspoken activist said the Itsekiri had remained peaceful despite years of provocation, but warned that there was a limit to endurance.
“We are in our land. We have not gone to anybody’s land,” she said. “Why do they want to wipe us out?”
The press briefing comes amid renewed tensions in parts of Delta State over political representation, land ownership and control of oil-bearing communities.
