Re: FOUNDATION LAYING CEREMONY OF THE SUB-PALACE OF THE ORODJE OF OKPE KINGDOM IN SAPELE TOWN ON SATURDAY, 24 JANUARY, 2026
The attention of the Sapele Okpe Community Land Trust Association has been drawn to a Caveat Emptor issued by Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri Kingdom, in respect of the foundation laying ceremony of the new Sub-Palace of the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom in Sapele Town on Saturday, 24 January 2026. The said Caveat Emptor was widely circulated on various social media platforms and published at page 2 of the Saturday Vanguard of January 24, 2026.
Having carefully examined the assertions made by Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri Kingdom, in the said Caveat Emptor, the Sapele Okpe Community Land Trust Association as the body corporate in charge of the management, administration and control of all lands in Sapele Community sometimes also referred to as Sapele Okpe Community, wishes to respond to the said Caveat Emptor as follows:
1. Title to all lands in Sapele Community is vested in the Sapele Okpe Community Land Trust Association (‘the Trust’).
2. Contrary to the assertion by Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan that Sapele is not the exclusive town of the Okpe people, we wish to state that while it may be true that as a cosmopolitan centre, Sapele is presently occupied by people of various ethnic extractions, such as Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Fulani, Isoko, Ijaws, Benin, Itsekiri and others, it is beyond dispute that the Okpe people are the only indigenous ethnic and linguistic group in Sapele Town and indeed the entire Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State, as affirmed by several legislation, including the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Council and Chiefs Law, Cap. T2, Laws of Delta State of Nigeria 2006. Section 2 of the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Council and Chiefs Law defines a ‘clan’ as a people indigenous to a community and ‘ethnic unit’ is defined as a people who speak a common language.
3. Based on the provisions of Section 39 (1), (2) and (3) as well as the Schedule to the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Council and Chiefs Law, every Local Government Area in Delta State is indicated and identified by the ethnic and linguistic characteristics and composition. Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State is listed as number 19 in the Schedule to the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Council and Chiefs Law, and it is only the Okpe Clan that is listed with the Urhobo language as the indigenous ethnic and linguistic group in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State. In the same vein, only the Orodje of Okpe is listed as the recognised Traditional Ruler in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State. Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State is listed as number 23 in the Schedule to the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Council and Chiefs Law, and the Itsekiri, Urhobo and Ijaw Clans and languages are listed therein because Itsekiri, Urhobo and Ijaw people are indigenous to Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State and each have their respective Traditional Rulers there.
4. Warri South West and Warri North Local Government Areas of Delta State have only the Itsekiri and Ijaw Clans and languages as indigenous and they are the only groups listed in those two (2) Local Government Areas, with each group having its own Traditional Ruler. No Urhobo group is listed in Warri South West and Warri North Local Government Areas of Delta State because Urhobos are not indigenous to any of those Local Government Areas. Thus, only the Orodje of Okpe is recognised and paid statutory entitlements by the Government as Traditional Ruler in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State. The Olu of Warri as Traditional Ruler of the Itsekiri people has never claimed to be entitled to any form of statutory recognition by Government in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State, because there is no indigenous Itsekiri community in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State.
5. The Orodje of Okpe as the only statutorily recognised Traditional Ruler over the whole of Sapele territory and Sapele Local Government Area does not need the permission of anybody howsoever to build a new Sub-Palace in Sapele. The foundation laying ceremony of the Sub-Palace of the Orodje of Okpe in Sapele, publicized by the Orodje of Okpe on 22 January 2026 to which Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan issued the said caveat emptor relates to a new Sub-Palace of the Orodje of Okpe. There has been an existing Sub-Palace of the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom in Sapele for several decades without any protest, challenge or objection from any person whatsoever, including several prominent Itsekiri people who have been residing in Sapele, such as the Minister of Finance in the first Republic, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh and Prince Sir K. B. Omatseye. The Alema of Warri, as a traditional chief of the Olu of Warri, is not a traditional chieftaincy title indigenous to Sapele Local Government Area. Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, therefore, lacks the power or authority to challenge the Orodje of Okpe over any of the territories of the Okpe Kingdom, of Okpe and Sapele Local Government Areas of Delta State.
6. Contrary to the assertion that Sapele from time immemorial belong to the Itsekiri people/nation and the reliance on some Intelligence Report by Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, we wish to state that the matter of ownership of Sapele has been judicially laid to rest by Courts of competent jurisdiction. In the famous case of Chief Ayomano & Chief Asan Edwin Omarin (on behalf of themselves and the Chiefs and People of Okpe Clan) vs. Ginuwa II, His Highness the Olu of Itsekiri for himself and as representing the Itsekiri People of Sapele) reported as Chief Ayomano and another Vs. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85, the highest Itsekiri traditional authority, the Olu of Warri, challenged the ownership of Sapele lands by the Okpe people and, the OLU lost.
7. All the Intelligence Reports relied upon by Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri, have been overtaken and superseded by the Judgment in Chief Ayomano and another Vs. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85. The dispute as to ownership of Sapele between the Itsekiri and the Okpe people, having been adjudicated upon by Courts of competent jurisdiction, the matter has now been laid to rest in favour of the Okpe people of Sapele. In the eye of the law, the matter of ownership of Sapele land is res judicata as between the Itsekiri and Okpe people and same is not open to any argument, debate or contestation. Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan may wish to return to the Court if he has any doubt about the subsisting judgments on the matter.
8. Contrary to the misconceived assertion that the Judgment in Chief Ayomano and another Vs. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85 (JELR 81222 (WACA) does not confer ownership of Sapele on the Okpes or that the said Judgment did not grant ownership of Sapele to Okpe but that same granted 510 acres of land to the Okpes, we wish to correct the misconceptions that the Judgment in Chief Ayomano and another Vs. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85 (JELR 81222 (WACA) does not confer ownership of Sapele on the Okpe people or the misapprehension that the Judgment limited the land of Okpe people to only 510 acres in Sapele.
9. The Judgment in Chief Ayomano and another Vs. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85 (JELR 81222 (WACA) arose from the attempts by Itsekiri people to claim ownership of Sapele lands of the Okpe people. In the case between Chief Ayomano & Chief Asan Edwin Omarin (on behalf of themselves and the Chiefs and People of Okpe Clan) vs. Ginuwa II, His Highness the Olu of Itsekiri for himself and as representing the Itsekiri People of Sapele) reported as Chief Ayomano and another v. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85 (JELR 81222 (WACA). That case finally settled the dispute over ownership of Sapele lands between the Okpe people and the Itsekiri people with finality. The case also established a historical fact that the Itsekiri people ran to Sapele for refuge from the Nana War of 1894 and were warmly welcomed by the Okpe people of Sapele.
10. In that case of Chief Ayomano and another v. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85, the Itsekiri people claimed ownership of the 510 acres of land leased to the British colonial Government by the Okpe people of Sapele. It turned out that because Chief Dore Numa (a prominent Itsekiri leader of the era) was appointed as the Agent of the British Government for the Benin River, the Okpe people of Sapele engaged Chief Dore Numa to represent them as Lessors in the lease granted on 3rd December, 1908 to the British colonial Government for 99 years. The Okpe people were kind enough to share/concede about half of the annual rent of £100 (One Hundred Pounds) to Chief Dore Numa. The relationship between the Sapele Okpe people and Chief Dore Numa was very cordial. Unfortunately, in 1932, Chief Dore Numa betrayed the trust of the Sapele Okpe people and began to claim that the land leased to the British colonial Government belonged to the Itsekiri people. Chief Dore Numa then directed Itsekiri people in Sapele to stop paying rent/tributes to the Okpe people in Sapele. Feeling insulted by the Itsekiris, the Chiefs and leaders of the Okpe people of Sapele challenged the conduct of the Itsekiris in Court. After taking evidence from both sides, the trial Judge came to the conclusion that the evidence of traditional history of ownership of Sapele lands by the Itsekiris was unreliable. The trial Judge entered Judgment in favour of the Okpe people as owners of Sapele lands.
11. Dissatisfied with that Judgment, the Olu of Itsekiri appealed to the West African Court of Appeal (WACA), which was the intermediate appellate Court for the British colonies of Gold Coast (Ghana), Nigeria, Gambia and Sierra Leone. In its Judgment, the West African Court of Appeal (WACA) affirmed the Judgment of the trial Court and upheld the title of the Okpe people of Sapele to the Sapele lands. A copy of the Judgment of the High Court, Warri in case of Chief Ayomano and another v. Ginuwa II is attached hereto and marked as Appendix 1. A copy of the Record of Proceedings of the case is attached and marked as Appendix 2 while the Judgment of the West African Court of Appeal (WACA) is attached and marked as Appendix 3.
12. Part of the Judgment of WACA is reproduced as follows (9 WACA 85 at 86):
“in the course of his judgment the learned trial Judge stated “I can find no substance in the defendants’ claim in their defence either as to ownership or as to overlordship. They might well be described as impudent claims”.
“On the other hand he found that for all practical purposes, the whole area now claimed was formerly farmed by Sobos. After the “Nana War”, which took place in 1894, “a large number of Jekris ran for refuge to Sapele and there obtained the permission of the Sobos to settle, giving customary ‘dashes’ for the grant of that privilege. … …
“It is clear that the trial Judge was satisfied that the Sobos were the original settlers on the land and had exercised exclusive rights of ownership up till the time the Government obtained a lease of the land by deed dated the 3rd December, 1908”.
13. The Urhobo (Okpe) people were previously called Sobos, while the Itsekiris were called Jekris by the British people. The above reproduced portions of the Judgment in Chief Ayomano and another v. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85 (JELR 81222 (WACA) contain far-reaching findings by the trial Court which findings were affirmed by the appellate Court (WACA). The trial and appellate Courts made the following specific findings of fact about the relationship between the Okpe and Itsekiri people in respect of land ownership in Sapele:
1. The Sobos (Okpe) people were the original settlers on Sapele land;
2. For all practical purposes, the whole area now claimed (Sapele) was formerly farmed by Sobos (Okpe) people before the Itsekiri people ever arrived there;
3. After the “Nana War”, which took place in 1894, “a large number of Jekris (Itsekiri) ran for refuge to Sapele;
4. The large number of Itsekiri people that ran for refuge to Sapele obtained the permission of the Sobos (Okpe) people to settle in Sapele;
5. The large number of Itsekiri people that ran for refuge to Sapele were giving customary ‘dashes’ (rent or tribute) to the Okpe people in Sapele for the grant of the privilege to settle in Sapele; and
6. The Sobos (Okpe) people had exercised exclusive rights of ownership up till the time the Government obtained a lease of the land by deed dated the 3rd December, 1908.
14. Remarkably, the above findings of fact of the trial Court, which were affirmed by the appellate Court (WACA), were not appealed against by the Itsekiri people. WACA was an intermediate appellate Court and a litigant who was not satisfied with any decision of WACA had the option to appeal with leave to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the Court of last resort. The Olu of Itsekiri (for himself and on behalf of the Itsekiri people) accepted the above findings of the Courts. Thus the above findings of fact constitute what is known in law as issue estoppel. The Itsekiri people are estopped from denying that: (i) the Okpe people were the original settlers on Sapele land; (ii) the whole area now called Sapele was formerly farmed by Okpe people; (iii) it was after the “Nana War”, which took place in 1894 that a large number of Itsekiri people ran for refuge to Sapele; (iv) the large number of Itsekiri people that ran for refuge to Sapele obtained the permission of the Okpe people to settle in Sapele; (v) the large number of Itsekiri people that ran for refuge to Sapele were giving customary ‘dashes’ to the Okpe people in Sapele for the grant of the privilege to settle in Sapele; and (vi) the Okpe people had exercised exclusive rights of ownership over Sapele lands.
15. For the records, and as upheld by the Court in the above stated case of Chief Ayomano and another v. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85 (JELR 81222 (WACA), four (4) brothers of Orhoro Ruling House of the great Okpe Kingdom (of Sapele and Okpe Local Government Areas of Delta State) originally founded the area now known as Sapele and its adjoining lands, a long time ago, beyond living memory, including the entire lands constituted as the Okpe-Urhobo Native Authority Forest Reserve. The four (4) brothers who originally founded Sapele and its adjoining lands were: (1) Ijighare, (2) Ovwighodua, (3) Onokuta, (4) Onoje) and their descendants, such as Warrant Chief Ofotukun, Warrant Chief Abeke, Warrant Chief Ogodo, Warrant Chief Ayomanor, Pa. Onomor, Pa. Ekariko among others. They deforested the area of its pristine vegetation and took peaceful, quiet and undisturbed possession of same, using some portions for their residence and the remainder as their farmlands. The descendants of Ijighare, Ovwighodua, Onokuta, Onoje, Ogodo and their other Okpe relations are the indigenous Sapele Okpe people on whom the Sapele lands devolved, in accordance with Okpe native law and custom, from time immemorial till date. The Okpe people have remained in control of the entire area called Sapele from the time their forebears deforested/founded same till date.
16. As laid to rest in the famous case of Chief Ayomano and another v. Ginuwa II, 9 WACA 85 (JELR 81222 (WACA), there were no Itsekiri people in Sapele until the year 1894 when the Nana War drove Itsekiri people away from their territories across the Benin River and they obtained the permission of the Okpe (Sobos) to settle at Sapele.
17. The locations or Communities which the Itsekiri claims as indigenous Itsekiri locations were all granted to the Itsekiri people by Okpe people, as affirmed by various Court Judgments. Obotie, Aja-Ojigwo, Ogunaja, Ajimele, Ugbekoko, Urakpa, Otonyasere and the Ero and Omiugbo Family lands at Ogorode are neither autonomous nor independent Itsekiri communities in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State. The above listed locations are all situate within the five (5) traditional and administrative Districts of the Okpe Kingdom under the leadership of the Udogun-Okpe (Okpe Supreme Council/Orodje-in-Council) headed by HRM Major General Felix Mujakperuo (Rtd), CFR, mni, Orhue I, the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom. Each of the Districts is headed by a Duke, who is of Okpe ethnic extraction conferred with the Okpe traditional chieftaincy title of Okakuro of Okpe. Each Duke is appointed by the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom.
18. The Okpe Kingdom of Okpe and Sapele Local Government Areas of Delta State is divided into thirteen (13) Districts each headed by a Duke appointed by the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom who reports to the Udogun-Okpe. The thirteen (13) Districts are (1) Orerokpe District, (2) Ugolo District, (3) Ughoton District, (4) Mereje I District, (5) Mereje II District, (6) Arhagba District, (7) Aghalokpe District, (8) Oha District, (9) Elume District, (10) Sapele District, (11) Amukpe District, (12) Ugborhen District, and (13) Ozue District. Eight (8) out of the thirteen (13) Districts are in Okpe Local Government Area while five (5) are in Sapele Local Government Area. The eight (8) Districts in Okpe Local Government Area are (1) Orerokpe District, (2) Ugolo District, (3) Ughoton District, (4) Mereje I District, (5) Mereje II District, (6) Arhagba District, (7) Aghalokpe District, and (8) Oha District. The five (5) Districts in Sapele Local Government Area are (1) Elume District, (2) Sapele District, (3) Amukpe District, (4) Ugborhen District, and (5) Ozue District. Every territory and piece of land within Okpe and Sapele Local Government Areas of Delta State, whether in villages or towns fall within the 13 Districts of the Okpe Kingdom.
19. Obotie Community is within Ugborhen District of the Okpe Kingdom in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State. The Duke of Ugborhen District appointed by the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom is Okakuro Anthony Ayovogware Amitaye JP. By the Judgment dated 27th March, 1925 of the Calabar Assizes of the Supreme Court in the case of Muvunum v. Achydoma, it was adjudged that the Itsekiri people of Obotie Community are customary tenants of the Okpe people of Ugbukurusu Community. A copy of the said Judgment is attached hereto and marked as Appendix 4.
20. Ugborhen District of the Okpe Kingdom is comprised of Ugborhen Community, Ugbukurusu Community, Abazare Community, Ikeresan Community, Adaka Community and Obotie Community. Ugborhen Community, Ugbukurusu Community, Abazare Community, Ikeresan Community and Adaka Community are all Okpe Communities. Only Obotie is an Itsekiri Community. As decided in the Supreme Court the case of Muvunum v. Achydoma, it was the Okpe people of Ugbukurusu who put the Itsekiri people in Obotie. In fact, the Supreme Court case of Muvunum v. Achydoma established the small portion of land that the Itsekiri people were permitted to build houses at Obotie Community. It is therefore indubitably settled that the Itsekiri people of Obotie Community are a minority group in Ugborhen District of the Okpe Kingdom in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State.
21. Furthermore, Aja-Ojigwo, Ogunaja, Ajimele, Ugbekoko, Urakpa, Otonyasere and Ero and Omiugbo Family land at Ogorode are all situate within Sapele District of the Okpe Kingdom in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State. The Duke of Sapele District appointed by the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom is Okakuro William Ayomanor who is assisted/supported by Okakuro Tom Anirah. Only Aja-Ojigwo can be described as an Itsekiri village. The people of Aja-Ojigwo are customary tenants of the Okpe people of Sapele Community. Ogunaja, Ajimele, Ugbekoko, Urakpa, Otonyasere and Ero and Omiugbo Family land at Ogorode are all part of the four (4) Quarters or Communities in Sapele District. The four (4) Quarters or Communities in Sapele District are (1) Etamuan Quarters, (2) Egborode Quarters, (3) Oton Quarters and (4) Ogodo Quarters. Ogunaja area of Sap
