The Obi-In-Council of Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State has stated that Otulu, a satellite town, remains an integral part of the kingdom.
The council said that the clarification became imperative following assertions made by the United and Concerned Indigenes Group of Otulu which said the town is now an autonomous community.
The five-man group led by Mr. Chukwuma Nkwuka recently staged a protest to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat, Asaba, accusing the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, Ifechukwude Okonjo of orchestrating efforts to seize ancestral lands belonging to Otulu which he claimed is an autonomous community.
Nkwuka said the law-abiding citizens of Otulu community had been pushed to the wall by some groups and their sponsors who confiscate their land and leaving them with the only option of self-defence.
But addressing journalists in Asaba, the Obi-In-Council of Ogwashi-Uku dismissed the allegations as baseless, describing the group as faceless, unrecognised and without legitimacy.
In a statement signed by the palace secretary, Prince Ifeakanachukwu Emordi and read by a counsel to Ogwashi community, Ngozi Chukura, the council said the fact that Otulu is an integral part of Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom is undisputed as confirmed by historical documents and official gazettes from the Western Region, Bendel State and Delta State.
“The Directorate of Chieftaincy Affairs and the Aniocha South Local Government Area have both verified this reality.
“The current traditional chief of Otulu Ogwashi-Uku was duly appointed by the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom and this appointment had been officially recognised and confirmed by the Delta State government,” the statement noted.
“The chief’s status has also been duly recorded in the state’s official gazette”
The statement said that many of individuals provoking communal discord hailed from Aniocha North Local Government Area and other communities who had been using names of prominent figures to perpetrate atrocities.
The Obi-In-Council, however, said that some of the perpetrators who had been facing trial for inciting security disturbances in Otulu were recently released on bail from the Correctional Centre in Ogwashi-Uku.
“The Obi of Ogwashi-Uku cannot and will not confiscate land that lawfully belongs to the Ogwashi-Uku community under his stewardship.
“The peace and security of Ogwashi-Uku remain paramount, and we stand resolute in protecting the integrity and unity of the kingdom.”
The Chief of Staff to the monarch, Prince Onyema Okonjo called for increased presence of the police in Otulu to checkmate the high level of criminality in the area.
He said that the life of the gazetted and recognised Chief of Otulu, Chief Anthony Enurah appointed by Obi Ifechukwude Okonjo has been under threat from activities of the hoodlums.
The threat, he argued, had compelled the chief to seek shelter outside the community, adding that the station of a patrol van in the area will further prevent breach of the peace in the satellite town.
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