SAPELE/Nigeria: Amid growing concerns over actions capable of destabilising Sapele’s long-standing harmony, Ede Dafinone has called on Itsekiri leaders and the Uduaghan family to urgently call Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri Kingdom, to order over what he described as false, provocative and legally settled claims of ownership of Sapele land. He warned that such assertions, if left unchecked, could threaten peace and public order in Sapele.
The senator, who also serves as Chairman of the Sapele Okpe Community Land Trust Association, made the call in a detailed response to a caveat emptor issued by Chief Uduaghan against the foundation-laying ceremony of the new sub-palace of the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom in Sapele on January 24, 2026. The caveat, which circulated widely on social media and was published in Saturday Vanguard, questioned the authority of the Okpe monarch over Sapele land.
Dafinone stated unequivocally that title to all lands in Sapele is vested in the Sapele Okpe Community Land Trust Association, stressing that Sapele remains an indigenous Okpe town despite its cosmopolitan character. While acknowledging that people of diverse ethnic backgrounds reside in the town, he maintained that the Okpe people are the only indigenous ethnic and linguistic group in Sapele and across the entire Sapele Local Government Area.
Citing statutory backing, the senator referred to the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Council and Chiefs Law, which recognises only the Orodje of Okpe as the traditional ruler of Sapele Local Government Area. He noted that the Olu of Warri has never claimed statutory recognition in the area, pointing out that there is no indigenous Itsekiri community in Sapele.
He further dismissed any authority by Chief Uduaghan to question the Okpe monarch, describing the Alema of Warri as a chieftaincy title not indigenous to Sapele. According to Dafinone, the Orodje of Okpe has maintained a sub-palace in Sapele for decades without objection, even during the lifetime of prominent Itsekiri residents of the town.
On the issue of land ownership, Dafinone said the matter had been conclusively settled by courts of competent jurisdiction. He cited the landmark case of Chief Ayomano & Anor v. Ginuwa II (9 WACA 85), in which the Olu of Warri, representing the Itsekiri people of Sapele, challenged Okpe ownership and lost.
“All intelligence reports relied upon by Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan have been overtaken and superseded by this judgment,” the senator stated, adding that ownership of Sapele land is now res judicata between the Okpe and Itsekiri peoples and is no longer open to debate or contestation.
Quoting from the West African Court of Appeal judgment, Dafinone recalled the court’s description of the Itsekiri claim as “impudent,” while affirming that, for all practical purposes, the area in dispute was formerly farmed by the Sobos, the colonial name for the Okpe people. The judgment also held that after the Nana War of 1894, many Jekri refugees settled in Sapele with the permission of the Sobos, paying customary “dashes” for that privilege.
He noted that the courts further established that the Okpe people exercised exclusive rights of ownership until the colonial government obtained a lease of the land in 1908. Dafinone stressed that the judgment was never appealed to the Privy Council, making it binding and creating issue estoppel against any renewed Itsekiri claim over Sapele land.
The senator added that subsequent Supreme Court decisions, including Muvunum v. Achydoma and Madam Ukoli Oleji v. Washman Ogodo, consistently affirmed that Itsekiri settlements in Sapele are customary tenancies granted by Okpe families.
Beyond the legal arguments, Dafinone warned against inflammatory rhetoric, stating that the peaceful disposition of the Okpe people should not be mistaken for weakness. He called on security agencies, including the Inspector-General of Police, the Department of State Services and Military Intelligence, to treat references to communal crisis in the caveat as an apparent attempt to instigate inter-ethnic conflict.
He also expressed concern over recent attempts to impose Itsekiri ethnic leadership structures in Sapele, describing such moves as provocative and contrary to the established traditional administration under the Okpe Kingdom.
Dafinone, however, commended well-informed and responsible Itsekiri residents and social media influencers who publicly condemned Chief Uduaghan’s actions, noting their acknowledgment that he neither owns property nor has investments in Sapele and should not instigate crisis in the town.
He concluded by urging all residents to preserve Sapele’s long-standing harmony, warning that peace is sustained by responsibility rather than arrogance, and insisting that what is unacceptable to one ethnic group should not be encouraged against another.
