Warri is located in Delta State, Nigeria, and is the economic nerve of the state. Warri is to the Urhobo/isoko, itsekiri and ijaw what Lagos is to Yoruba although both cities like every other cities in Nigeria are overrated.  Warri houses an annexe of the Delta State Government House. Most importantly, Warri is known for crude-oil production as it houses many of the oil companies operating in the region, thus earning the name of "oil-city". 

Warri is one of the most popular and densely populated areas in Nigeria. It is known for its unique brand of Nigerian Pidgin which has almost become creolized in the city.

The city is home to three major ethnicities: the Urhobo, Itsekiri and the Ijaw. This write-up, without further ado, will examine the dynamics of Warri City and establish its difference from the Warri Kingdom, which many people often regard as one and the same due to the naming.

Warri City

Warri City evolved from a small GRA in Agbassa area of Warri, built by the colonial masters who wanted to set up a district for the surrounding riverine and hinterland people. With the setting up of the colonial district and GRA in Warri, there was a massive influx of natives and foreigners in the new city. This influx created a "land race" between the ethnic groups in the area and set the pace for one of the most asked questions in the region: "Who owns Warri?". 

The modern warri is largely made up of Urhoboland, with some parts of Itsekiriland. The cosmopolitan warri is 80% Urhoboland (extending to Delta Central LGAs such as Uvwie, Udu and Okpe). Traditional urhobo homesteads in warri include: Otovwodo, Ejeba, parts of Okere, Ugberikoko, Ogunu, Iyara, etc. while itsekiri areas in warri include Upper and Lower Erejuwa, parts of Okere, Ugbuwanugue, parts of Alder's town, NPA area, etc .

Warri Kingdom

The traditional "warri " is an Itsekiri enclave and the name is derived from the itsekiri word "Iwerre", right from the colonial time the itsekiri usually refers to their land as "Iwerre" or "Warri Kingdom" which is been headed by the "OLU" (LORD of all Iwerre land), it should be noted here that the Olu of warri has no influence over urhobo land or Ijaw land in warri .

The city of warri is fast developing and one should expect that in the next 15 yrs we should be on the same league with Lagos and abuja, warri has all what it takes to be the dubai of Nigeria, apart from her huge natural resources there are other potential if well harnessed will bring a huge development to warri, the warri port comes to mind.

credits : fratermathy

cc: Sanchez01 onuwaje amberon11 kirigidi nicho1

your contribution is highly needed.

This is a very good post. It is important to properly make the distinction between Warri City and Warri Kingdom (Iwere). Many people seem to mistake one for the other. Most of the modern day Warri City is in Urhoboland with parts of Itsekiriland. Iwere (Warri Kingdom) covers not even Warri City (apart from Itsekiri parts) but all of Itsekiriland including areas not within Warri City.

Watch this space. It may be modified with more information.

Cc:
Lalasticlala

its good to be on anoda thread like this lol


well OP. "Ugborikoko" is in Uvwie LGA while Ugberikoko is in Okpeland I don't really know if its either Sapele or Okpe


Back to the Warri Issue.

the main Warri town is located within Agbassa, Okere, and parts of Okumagba Layout.




Warri City is Located in Warri South LGA



i wud av listed the towns and villages found in Warri South LGAs but i wqs banned the last time i tried it in a thread similar to this.


also the ownership of Warri is a very sensitive issue so i wud advise we refer to the court cases as regards to the areas concerned..

going into details might get me banned but i will try

onuwaje:
its good to be on anoda thread like this lol


well OP. "Ugborikoko" is in Uvwie LGA while Ugberikoko is in Okpeland I don't really know if its either Sapele or Okpe


Back to the Warri Issue.

the main Warri town is located within Agbassa, Okere, and parts of Okumagba Layout.




Warri City is Located in Warri South LGA



i wud av listed the towns and villages found in Warri South LGAs but i wqs banned the last time i tried it in a thread similar to this.


also the ownership of Warri is a very sensitive issue so i wud advise we refer to the court cases as regards to the areas concerned..

going into details might get me banned but i will try

lol, court cases? .

Ugborikoko is in uvwie fine, but ugborikoko make a huge part of the present day warri city.

seun and laslaticlala

onuwaje:
its good to be on anoda thread like this lol


well OP. "Ugborikoko" is in Uvwie LGA while Ugberikoko is in Okpeland I don't really know if its either Sapele or Okpe


Back to the Warri Issue.

the main Warri town is located within Agbassa, Okere, and parts of Okumagba Layout.




Warri City is Located in Warri South LGA



i wud av listed the towns and villages found in Warri South LGAs but i wqs banned the last time i tried it in a thread similar to this.


also the ownership of Warri is a very sensitive issue so i wud advise we refer to the court cases as regards to the areas concerned..

going into details might get me banned but i will try

The supreme court judgement gives most of Warri to Itsekiris.

Ugborikoko is not a community in traditional Warri city but in Uvwie town. Lower and Upper Erejuwa doesn't belong to itsekiri but Agbassa and Okere - Urhobo. This write up is not expository enough. The Op needs to write what we don't know. For example where is Iwere Kingdom located? What's the difference between historic Iwere Kingdom and modern Warri city?

Efewestern:


lol, court cases? .

Ugborikoko is in uvwie fine, but ugborikoko make a huge part of the present day warri city.

seun and laslaticlala

a huge part? i wud say just a fraction given the old airstrip that was there


if u are blended in modern history of Warri u will know that the ownership of many towns and settlements were decided by Supreme court cases both pre-colonial and post colonial eras.


places like Okumagba Layout, The area where Hussey College is located just to mention a few

OAUTemitayo:
The supreme court judgement gives most of Warri to Itsekiris.

Ehem.. Please can you substantiate this with a source?

onuwaje:


a huge part? i wud say just a fraction given the old airstrip that was there


if u are blended in modern history of Warri u will know that the ownership of many towns and settlements were decided by Supreme court cases both pre-colonial and post colonial eras.


places like Okumagba Layout, The area where Hussey College is located just to mention a few

Try and substantiate some of your claims of ownership so that an educative argumentation can be provoked.

fratermathy:


Ehem.. Please can you substantiate this with a source?

Ownership of Warri
Warri Kingdom, a 1520 sq. miles of land area, comprising the three Warri Local Government Areas or Warri South, Warri North and Warri Southwest, was an independent and sovereign state prior to the British-Benin River Expedition (Nanna War) of 1894.
The area is also known as Itsekiri country. The various Itsekiri communities such as Omadino, Irigbo, Ureju, Inorin, Ugborodo, etc., had occupied this area from time immemorial before a Bini Prince named Ginuwa and his chiefs set out to establish a kingdom here towards the end of the fifteenth century. The Warri metropolis, a comparatively recent development, is usually referred to as New Warri in deference to Big Warri, the other name for Ode-Itsekiri, the capital of the kingdom.
History is replete with accounts and documentation of Warri as Itsekiri homeland or country. Notable historians from Professor Kenneth O. Dike, first Nigerian Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan and Professor of History at Harvard University, to Professor J.F. Ade Ajayi and Professor Obaro Ikime have contributed to works on Itsekiri history. The latter in his “Merchant Prince of Niger Delta” published in 1968 features a map of the Itsekiri Country, which he described as follows:
“… The Itsekiri inhabit the North-Western extremity of the Niger-Delta in an area bounded approximately by lat. 5°. 20′ and 6°.N and long. 5°5′ and 5° 40′ East. Their neighbors are Binis to the North, the Ijo to the South; the Urhobos, to the East and the Yorubas of Ondo province to the Northwest”.
With the advent of British rule, provinces were created. Warri Province was administered from Warri as one judicial, administrative and political unit. Quite understandably, the other ethnic groups protested being part of a singular administrative unit. Following researches into ethnic and clan system by administrative officers –
Intelligence Reports and Court decisions – the unified structure was dismantled and separate Native Administrations were established based on homeland concept. A Warri Division (later Warri Local Government Area) was established in the Itsekiri homeland which, for historical reasons, also contained some settler enclaves inhabited mostly by Ijaws and Urhobos. The homeland concept led to the emergence of Divisional Councils in 1952. (1) The presence of Ijaw and Urhobo in Warri Division has been clearly described as that of settlers. Professor Lloyd states as follows:
“The Itsekiri live in the westernmost part of the Niger Delta, bounded by the Bight of Benin on the West and ….. The Administrative Unit know as the Warri Division of the Delta Province, … includes groups of Ijaw settlements in the extreme North and South and of Urhobo settlements in the Southeast; the latter, however, are subordinate to the Itsekiri rulers. Neighbors of the Itsekiri are ….”
Capt. E.A. Miller’s Intelligence Report of 1929 on the Ughara Clan states on page 7:
“8. There is little doubt that Agbassa-Oto, …. was the original home of the people who now occupy Warifi-Warigi lands. Probably of a peaceful disposition, as there are no traces of any war-like tendencies, there was a general exodus from the parent town, owing to oppression and enslavement by neighboring Agbadu and Ukpe, Sobos. Three distinct parties set out – one settled near Warri and called their town Agbassa- a second settled in the neighborhood of Jesse, and the third at Warigi Waterside, which place they named Iro.
“9. The time was probably somewhere between 1800 and 1850, though there are no striking events by which the exact date can be fixed. One of the settlers in the first few years- Emitan- brought with him his son Akojewe, then a small boy. The latter’s son, Oghoyone, born at Warifi died, an old man, some seventeen or eighteen years ago.”
In Ometan on behalf of himself and the Agbassa people versus Chief Dore Numa in Suit #25/1926, the plaintiffs in their statement of claim deposed as follows (2) :
“It is claimed that as far back as over a hundred years ago the plaintiff’s ancestors settled on the land in dispute…”
In The Sobo of the Niger Delta, 1948, John Hubbard states on page 7:
“A migration occurred probably late in the 18 th century from a Sobo town called Agbarha about twenty three miles East of Warri in the middle of Sobo country… (they) crossed the Warri River and by negotiation with the Jekri obtained land from them… built a village of their own which they named after their hometown Agbarha (Agbassa). This is now one of the quarters in Warri.”
In the famous case mentioned above, it was decided that:
“… when the Agbassa came to Warri they were given permission by the Olu to settle on land which is now known as Bomali or Abgassa village… . That from the earliest times and during recent years the Agbassa rendered service to the defendant as overlord….”
On appeal, the Full Court of the Supreme Court (now the Supreme Court) of Nigeria, consisting of Kingdom, C., J., Berkeley and Butler Lloyd, JJ, in Lagos on March 13, 1931, confirmed the foregoing decision (3) :
“In this appeal, the appellants belong to the Sobo tribe known as Agbassa. They are claiming the overlordship of the greater part of Warri as against the defendant who represents the Jekri tribe. The defendant in his representative capacity is at present the officially recognized owner of the land in dispute and Government has leased a considerable area of land in Warri from him in that capacity.
“The plaintiffs, (i.e. appellants) do not seek in any way to disturb the existing leases, but they claim as of right to be substituted for the defendant in the overlordship of the territory in dispute.
“.. the Agbassa were given permission by the Olu … to settle on land in Warri. That they have since increased in numbers, wealth and importance until now they feel themselves strong enough to impugn the title of the overlord….
“In my opinion they have failed to establish their claims. I consider that this appeal should be dismissed.”
Dissatisfied, the Agbassa appealed to the Privy Council in London. The appeal was listed as #65 of 1932. Lord Atkin delivered judgement of the Lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – present were Lord Atkin, Lord Aliness and Sir Sidney Rowlatt. The judgement delivered in 1933 was as follows (4) :
“This is an appeal from the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who dismissed the present appellant’s appeal from the judgement of Mr. Justice Webber in an action in which the appellant was plaintiff and the respondents were defendants. It was an action brought by the plaintiffs on behalf of a tribe or sub-tribe in that district of the Agbassa people claiming territorial rights over land known as the Agbassa land in the Warri district to the Southern Province of Nigeria.
The dispute was between the plaintiff representing the Agbassa people and the defendants representing another tribe or sub-tribe of the Jekri people claiming to be overlords of this territory.
“In the circumstances, there being concurrent findings of fact and there being in addition ample evidence to support them, it is quite impossible for their Lordships to interfere with the decisions which have been arrived at by both courts and their Lordships will therefore humbly advise His Majesty that this appeal should be dismissed. The respondents must have the cost of the appeal.”
Following repeated litigation and non-compliance with the law, the Supreme Court, presided over by Udo-Udoma, Sowemimo and Ibekwe, S.C.J.J., in suits #SC 67/1971 and #SC 327/1972, reviewed previous judgements and rendered as follows (5) :
“In view of these unimpeachable recurring findings by Courts of competent jurisdiction, there can be no question that the Agbassa, including the Igbudu are customary tenants of the first claimants (that is, the Itsekiri Land Trustees). Their tenure of the land occupied by them is therefore subject to the incident of customary tenancy. It is fool-hardy on the part of the part of the second claimants…. in the face of overwhelming evidence and findings of successive courts throughout the years to seek from time to time as soon as there is notice of acquisition and the prospects of a windfall like manna from heaven to re-litigate issues which have been clearly determined and laid to rest against them by persisting in the groundless assertion that the people of Agbassa are the absolute owners of the land in dispute which has been conclusively established as forming the land and subject matter of suit #25 of 1926.”
In a further judgement (6) , the Supreme Court in suit #SC 328/1972, stated:
“We have already observed that the first claimants (Itsekiri Land Trust) are not mere revisioners. They are in fact and in law the legal owners of the land in the occupation of the Agbassa Community, who occupy the same subject to the usual incidents of customary tenancy, such as being of good behavior and not attempting to alienate any interest therein to strangers without the knowledge and authority of their overlord. Any infraction of such incidents would immediately expose the offender to the full rigors of forfeiture which may be granted in a proper case. Instances are not wanting in the law reports of forfeiture having been decreed in certain circumstances…. We are satisfied that the approach of the learned trial judge to the issue under consideration was correct and that his decision is unimpeachable. It is right.”
Several similar judgements against Ijaws abound (7) .
Finally, we report this Supreme Court judgement delivered by Nnameka Agu, J.S.C., in 1993 ( :
“No doubt a tribunal of inquiry is an inferior tribunal to both the High Court and the Supreme Court which are in the Constitution vested with unlimited powers to adjudicate on right of parties who appear before them and see to the execution and enforcement of their decisions. Once a party gets a final judgement in his favor before a Court of competent jurisdiction, such a judgement is effective, conclusive and binding on the parties and their privies and can only be upset on appeal. A tribunal of Inquiry is not a court of appeal, competent to review, set aside, or override such judgement…”
Okere Community

http://ngr.ng/title-olu-warri-ownership-warri-indisputable/

OAUTemitayo:
The supreme court judgement gives most of Warri to Itsekiris.

what's your prove?

You need to visit warri, even the itsekiri man you quoted won't support you on this.

fratermathy:


Try and substantiate some of your claims of ownership so that an educative argumentation can be provoked.

what i am trying to say is the question who owns worry is very sensitive. it can't be discussed here if u know what i mean.


because we will end up not reaching a conclusive agreement

jared007:
Ugborikoko is not a community in traditional Warri city but in Uvwie town. Lower and Upper Erejuwa doesn't belong to itsekiri but Agbassa and Okere - Urhobo. This write up is not expository enough. The Op needs to write what we don't know. For example where is Iwere Kingdom located? What's the difference between historic Iwere Kingdom and modern Warri city?

nobody said ugborikoko is a part of the traditional warri city, but present day warri city, ugborikoko make a huge part of it.

@bolded yea I gat your point.. will add more to it, fratermathy and onuwaje I need good points so we can educate others.

http://www.lawpavilionpersonal.com/lawreportsummary.jsp?suite=olabisi@9thfloor&pk=SC.67/1971&apk=13282


This is a supreme court judgement.
Urhobos went to the privy council and even lost it.

onuwaje:


what i am trying to say is the question who owns worry is very sensitive. it can't be discussed here if u know what i mean.


because we will end up not reaching a conclusive agreement

more like saying who owns each towns in warri, at least we all know nobody owns warri, listing the towns that make up the present day warri city will do for now and the owner of such towns.

Efewestern:


more like saying who owns each towns in warri, at least we all know nobody owns warri, listing the towns that make up the present day warri city will do for now and the owner of such towns.

i did the last time i was banned

but Warri Town in Warri South Lga is between

Urhobos (Agbassa x Okumagba)
Itsekiri

Efewestern I very much respect you a lot.
I will want us to make this discussion an intellectual one so that we can all enjoy and gain from it.
I propose we use Rule of Law as the substance and fact in our argument.
If there exists disagreements between two or more people over the ownership or an item, I believe there are constitutional authorities to resolve it.
Do you believe court judgements?
Do you believe in rule of law?.
Let us start from their

on a lighter note


In Warri you are spoilt for choice with more restaurants than any other city in Delta State. The City’s food scene continues to explode with new bars, cafes, and restaurants opening on a regular basis. The bar scene, also, is impressive whether you seek the grand serves of a hotel lounge or the character of a local pub.

OAUTemitayo:
Efewestern I very much respect you a lot.
I will want us to make this discussion an intellectual one so that we can all enjoy and gain from it.
I propose we use Rule of Law as the substance and fact in our argument.
If there exists disagreements between two or more people over the ownership or an item, I believe there are constitutional authorities to resolve it.
Do you believe court judgements?
Do you believe in rule of law?.
Let us start from their

when a court decides on a land case involving two ethnic groups the result can be very tricky..

just because Ancestor A came to a land and met Ancestor B. and then Ancestor A agreed to be loyal to Ancestor B. den 300 years later u don't expect their offspring to oblige to an oral agreement of over 300 years... that's just d Issue.

even if they decide where will u take dem to?

such is d case of the Bakassi Peninsula between Nigeria x Cameroon

This is the judgement of Justice Uwaifo on the Warri ownership status.

Justice Uwaifo, in Chief Augustus Osioh v. Anthony Idesoh (Suit No. W/101/73); a case between two Urhobos, discussed by E.O. Ekpoko at page 25 (chapter 2) of the book. According to Justice Uwaifo.

“There can be no doubt that the question of who are the owners of Agbassa, that is, all the villages including Igbudu, has been finally pronounced upon. It has always belonged to The Itsekiri People under the overlordship of the Olu of Warri and until recently, his successors-in-title. They (the Itsekiri) have always been overlords and the people of Agbassa have always been tenants. Any other person living in Igbudu or any part of Agbassa except an Itsekiri is a tenant

onuwaje:


when a court decides on a land case involving two ethnic groups the result can be very tricky..

just because Ancestor A came to a land and met Ancestor B. and then Ancestor A agreed to be loyal to Ancestor B. den 300 years later u don't expect their offspring to oblige to an oral agreement of over 300 years... that's just d Issue.

even if they decide where will u take dem to?

such is d case of the Bakassi Peninsula between Nigeria x Cameroon

So you mean if I lease land from you, my great-grandchildren can make a claim that they are the rightful owners of the land.
Does time erode the ownership of an item?
How do you expect the Nigerian government to accept the fact that oil belongs to Nigerdelta when you people deliberately choose which court judgement to accept and ignore?
You wonder why Hausas has the affront to declare that oil in Nigeria Delta belongs to them?
Its because Urhobos also believed that a land their grandparents leased belonged to them because they have been there for a long time

g

OAUTemitayo:
So you mean if I lease land from you, my great-grandchildren can make a claim that they are the rightful owners of the land.
Does time erode the ownership of an item?
How do you expect the Nigerian government to accept the fact that oil belongs to Nigerdelta when you people deliberately choose which court judgement to accept and ignore?
You wonder why Hausas has the affront to declare that oil in Nigeria Delta belongs to them?
Its because Urhobos also believed that a land their grandparents leased belonged to them because they have been there for a long time

a perfect example to ur first question is the case of Okenrenkoko as we know it today. that said land has been decided by the supreme court of Nigeria and handed over to the Itsekiri Community called Omadino. the Itsekiri's call that place Okerengigho. the supreme court has decided but i can tell u that the Itsekiris can't lay physical claim to it as an owner

others include Oporoza (Opuraza) Bakokodia(Kokodiagbene)

ur second question. the government of Nigeria is a central government as as such everything within its boundary belongs to it. we re practicing a Federal System of government different from the one we know lol

ur 3rd question

the issue of Hausa dominance goes beyond Hausa alone. the british programmed them to be that way (born to rule) if u go back to history i don't think the northerners gave the white men much problems as we southerners (King Jaja of Opobo, Oba Ovoramen, Nana of Itsekirii, Aba women riot etc)
so I believe they are enjoying the fruits of their loyalty to the white men

OAUTemitayo:

Ownership of Warri
Warri Kingdom, a 1520 sq. miles of land area, comprising the three Warri Local Government Areas or Warri South, Warri North and Warri Southwest, was an independent and sovereign state prior to the British-Benin River Expedition (Nanna War) of 1894.
The area is also known as Itsekiri country. The various Itsekiri communities such as Omadino, Irigbo, Ureju, Inorin, Ugborodo, etc., had occupied this area from time immemorial before a Bini Prince named Ginuwa and his chiefs set out to establish a kingdom here towards the end of the fifteenth century. The Warri metropolis, a comparatively recent development, is usually referred to as New Warri in deference to Big Warri, the other name for Ode-Itsekiri, the capital of the kingdom.
History is replete with accounts and documentation of Warri as Itsekiri homeland or country. Notable historians from Professor Kenneth O. Dike, first Nigerian Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan and Professor of History at Harvard University, to Professor J.F. Ade Ajayi and Professor Obaro Ikime have contributed to works on Itsekiri history. The latter in his “Merchant Prince of Niger Delta” published in 1968 features a map of the Itsekiri Country, which he described as follows:
“… The Itsekiri inhabit the North-Western extremity of the Niger-Delta in an area bounded approximately by lat. 5°. 20′ and 6°.N and long. 5°5′ and 5° 40′ East. Their neighbors are Binis to the North, the Ijo to the South; the Urhobos, to the East and the Yorubas of Ondo province to the Northwest”.
With the advent of British rule, provinces were created. Warri Province was administered from Warri as one judicial, administrative and political unit. Quite understandably, the other ethnic groups protested being part of a singular administrative unit. Following researches into ethnic and clan system by administrative officers –
Intelligence Reports and Court decisions – the unified structure was dismantled and separate Native Administrations were established based on homeland concept. A Warri Division (later Warri Local Government Area) was established in the Itsekiri homeland which, for historical reasons, also contained some settler enclaves inhabited mostly by Ijaws and Urhobos. The homeland concept led to the emergence of Divisional Councils in 1952. (1) The presence of Ijaw and Urhobo in Warri Division has been clearly described as that of settlers. Professor Lloyd states as follows:
“The Itsekiri live in the westernmost part of the Niger Delta, bounded by the Bight of Benin on the West and ….. The Administrative Unit know as the Warri Division of the Delta Province, … includes groups of Ijaw settlements in the extreme North and South and of Urhobo settlements in the Southeast; the latter, however, are subordinate to the Itsekiri rulers. Neighbors of the Itsekiri are ….”
Capt. E.A. Miller’s Intelligence Report of 1929 on the Ughara Clan states on page 7:
“8. There is little doubt that Agbassa-Oto, …. was the original home of the people who now occupy Warifi-Warigi lands. Probably of a peaceful disposition, as there are no traces of any war-like tendencies, there was a general exodus from the parent town, owing to oppression and enslavement by neighboring Agbadu and Ukpe, Sobos. Three distinct parties set out – one settled near Warri and called their town Agbassa- a second settled in the neighborhood of Jesse, and the third at Warigi Waterside, which place they named Iro.
“9. The time was probably somewhere between 1800 and 1850, though there are no striking events by which the exact date can be fixed. One of the settlers in the first few years- Emitan- brought with him his son Akojewe, then a small boy. The latter’s son, Oghoyone, born at Warifi died, an old man, some seventeen or eighteen years ago.”
In Ometan on behalf of himself and the Agbassa people versus Chief Dore Numa in Suit #25/1926, the plaintiffs in their statement of claim deposed as follows (2) :
“It is claimed that as far back as over a hundred years ago the plaintiff’s ancestors settled on the land in dispute…”
In The Sobo of the Niger Delta, 1948, John Hubbard states on page 7:
“A migration occurred probably late in the 18 th century from a Sobo town called Agbarha about twenty three miles East of Warri in the middle of Sobo country… (they) crossed the Warri River and by negotiation with the Jekri obtained land from them… built a village of their own which they named after their hometown Agbarha (Agbassa). This is now one of the quarters in Warri.”
In the famous case mentioned above, it was decided that:
“… when the Agbassa came to Warri they were given permission by the Olu to settle on land which is now known as Bomali or Abgassa village… . That from the earliest times and during recent years the Agbassa rendered service to the defendant as overlord….”
On appeal, the Full Court of the Supreme Court (now the Supreme Court) of Nigeria, consisting of Kingdom, C., J., Berkeley and Butler Lloyd, JJ, in Lagos on March 13, 1931, confirmed the foregoing decision (3) :
“In this appeal, the appellants belong to the Sobo tribe known as Agbassa. They are claiming the overlordship of the greater part of Warri as against the defendant who represents the Jekri tribe. The defendant in his representative capacity is at present the officially recognized owner of the land in dispute and Government has leased a considerable area of land in Warri from him in that capacity.
“The plaintiffs, (i.e. appellants) do not seek in any way to disturb the existing leases, but they claim as of right to be substituted for the defendant in the overlordship of the territory in dispute.
“.. the Agbassa were given permission by the Olu … to settle on land in Warri. That they have since increased in numbers, wealth and importance until now they feel themselves strong enough to impugn the title of the overlord….
“In my opinion they have failed to establish their claims. I consider that this appeal should be dismissed.”
Dissatisfied, the Agbassa appealed to the Privy Council in London. The appeal was listed as #65 of 1932. Lord Atkin delivered judgement of the Lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – present were Lord Atkin, Lord Aliness and Sir Sidney Rowlatt. The judgement delivered in 1933 was as follows (4) :
“This is an appeal from the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who dismissed the present appellant’s appeal from the judgement of Mr. Justice Webber in an action in which the appellant was plaintiff and the respondents were defendants. It was an action brought by the plaintiffs on behalf of a tribe or sub-tribe in that district of the Agbassa people claiming territorial rights over land known as the Agbassa land in the Warri district to the Southern Province of Nigeria.
The dispute was between the plaintiff representing the Agbassa people and the defendants representing another tribe or sub-tribe of the Jekri people claiming to be overlords of this territory.
“In the circumstances, there being concurrent findings of fact and there being in addition ample evidence to support them, it is quite impossible for their Lordships to interfere with the decisions which have been arrived at by both courts and their Lordships will therefore humbly advise His Majesty that this appeal should be dismissed. The respondents must have the cost of the appeal.”
Following repeated litigation and non-compliance with the law, the Supreme Court, presided over by Udo-Udoma, Sowemimo and Ibekwe, S.C.J.J., in suits #SC 67/1971 and #SC 327/1972, reviewed previous judgements and rendered as follows (5) :
“In view of these unimpeachable recurring findings by Courts of competent jurisdiction, there can be no question that the Agbassa, including the Igbudu are customary tenants of the first claimants (that is, the Itsekiri Land Trustees). Their tenure of the land occupied by them is therefore subject to the incident of customary tenancy. It is fool-hardy on the part of the part of the second claimants…. in the face of overwhelming evidence and findings of successive courts throughout the years to seek from time to time as soon as there is notice of acquisition and the prospects of a windfall like manna from heaven to re-litigate issues which have been clearly determined and laid to rest against them by persisting in the groundless assertion that the people of Agbassa are the absolute owners of the land in dispute which has been conclusively established as forming the land and subject matter of suit #25 of 1926.”
In a further judgement (6) , the Supreme Court in suit #SC 328/1972, stated:
“We have already observed that the first claimants (Itsekiri Land Trust) are not mere revisioners. They are in fact and in law the legal owners of the land in the occupation of the Agbassa Community, who occupy the same subject to the usual incidents of customary tenancy, such as being of good behavior and not attempting to alienate any interest therein to strangers without the knowledge and authority of their overlord. Any infraction of such incidents would immediately expose the offender to the full rigors of forfeiture which may be granted in a proper case. Instances are not wanting in the law reports of forfeiture having been decreed in certain circumstances…. We are satisfied that the approach of the learned trial judge to the issue under consideration was correct and that his decision is unimpeachable. It is right.”
Several similar judgements against Ijaws abound (7) .
Finally, we report this Supreme Court judgement delivered by Nnameka Agu, J.S.C., in 1993 ( :
“No doubt a tribunal of inquiry is an inferior tribunal to both the High Court and the Supreme Court which are in the Constitution vested with unlimited powers to adjudicate on right of parties who appear before them and see to the execution and enforcement of their decisions. Once a party gets a final judgement in his favor before a Court of competent jurisdiction, such a judgement is effective, conclusive and binding on the parties and their privies and can only be upset on appeal. A tribunal of Inquiry is not a court of appeal, competent to review, set aside, or override such judgement…”
Okere Community

http://ngr.ng/title-olu-warri-ownership-warri-indisputable/

This website you just quoted is a pro-Itsekiri website and cannot be taken as an objective source. Let's work with objective sources such as repositories, archives, journals, etc.

I won't even bother reading through again because I had already done that long ago and sent my sentiments to the blog owner for distorting history to favour the Itsekiris.

I can also bring pro-Urhobo websites where the opposite of this is found. Capiche?

onuwaje:


when a court decides on a land case involving two ethnic groups the result can be very tricky..

just because Ancestor A came to a land and met Ancestor B. and then Ancestor A agreed to be loyal to Ancestor B. den 300 years later u don't expect their offspring to oblige to an oral agreement of over 300 years... that's just d Issue.

even if they decide where will u take dem to?

such is d case of the Bakassi Peninsula between Nigeria x Cameroon

Nobody is sending them out of the place.
But when it comes to territorial jurisdiction, they must accept the lordship of the Itsekiris.
In the Bakassi case, Nigerians in Bakassi were giving the option of changing to Cameroonians or Nigerians.
Most moved to Nigeria while some accept Cameroon citizenship.
If Nigeria is to divide tomorrow and Itsekiris want to have their own country, who controls the land that courts of law has declared as Itsekiris land but presently leased by Urhobos?

OAUTemitayo:
This is the judgement of Justice Uwaifo on the Warri ownership status.

Justice Uwaifo, in Chief Augustus Osioh v. Anthony Idesoh (Suit No. W/101/73); a case between two Urhobos, discussed by E.O. Ekpoko at page 25 (chapter 2) of the book. According to Justice Uwaifo.

“There can be no doubt that the question of who are the owners of Agbassa, that is, all the villages including Igbudu, has been finally pronounced upon. It has always belonged to The Itsekiri People under the overlordship of the Olu of Warri and until recently, his successors-in-title. They (the Itsekiri) have always been overlords and the people of Agbassa have always been tenants. Any other person living in Igbudu or any part of Agbassa except an Itsekiri is a tenant

lol, you are very funny. why don't you provide source for this comment so that other can read and enlighten there self because to me your comment belittle your level of intelligent.

OAUTemitayo:
This is the judgement of Justice Uwaifo on the Warri ownership status.

Justice Uwaifo, in Chief Augustus Osioh v. Anthony Idesoh (Suit No. W/101/73); a case between two Urhobos, discussed by E.O. Ekpoko at page 25 (chapter 2) of the book. According to Justice Uwaifo.

“There can be no doubt that the question of who are the owners of Agbassa, that is, all the villages including Igbudu, has been finally pronounced upon. It has always belonged to The Itsekiri People under the overlordship of the Olu of Warri and until recently, his successors-in-title. They (the Itsekiri) have always been overlords and the people of Agbassa have always been tenants. Any other person living in Igbudu or any part of Agbassa except an Itsekiri is a tenant

A link to the source of this judgement will aid your case. Besides why don't you post the judgements of the supreme court in favour of Okere-Urhobo?

Are you being one-sided?

OAUTemitayo:
Nobody is sending them out of the place.
But when it comes to territorial jurisdiction, they must accept the lordship of the Itsekiris.
In the Bakassi case, Nigerians in Bakassi were giving the option of changing to Cameroonians or Nigerians.
Most moved to Nigeria while some accept Cameroon citizenship.
If Nigeria is to divide tomorrow and Itsekiris want to have their own country, who controls the land that courts of law has declared as Itsekiris land but presently leased by Urhobos?

if Nigeria decides to divide and the Itsekiris want to have their country. two things are involved
1. war
2. more litigation which may still arrive at its current state.

OAUTemitayo:
Nobody is sending them out of the place.
But when it comes to territorial jurisdiction, they must accept the lordship of the Itsekiris.
In the Bakassi case, Nigerians in Bakassi were giving the option of changing to Cameroonians or Nigerians.
Most moved to Nigeria while some accept Cameroon citizenship.
If Nigeria is to divide tomorrow and Itsekiris want to have their own country, who controls the land that courts of law has declared as Itsekiris land but presently leased by Urhobos?

Leased to Urhobos you say? When last did Urhobos pay houserents or land rent fees to the Olu? Let's stary with that.

I don't think you want to be objective here at all. Onuwaje, a confirmed Itsekiri man, is far more objective than you are. Be honest with yourself and lose the vendetta against Urhobos.