Senator Ede Dafinone has called on Itsekiri leaders and the Uduaghan family to urgently call Chief 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 unchecked, pose a serious threat to peace and public order in the historic Delta town.
The senator, who is also 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, widely circulated on social media and published in Saturday Vanguard, questioned the authority of the Okpe monarch over Sapele land.
Dafinone stated unequivocally that “title to all lands in Sapele Community is vested in the Sapele Okpe Community Land Trust Association,” stressing that Sapele is an indigenous Okpe town, notwithstanding its cosmopolitan character. He noted that while people of diverse ethnic backgrounds reside in Sapele, “the Okpe people are the only indigenous ethnic and linguistic group in Sapele Town and indeed the entire Sapele Local Government Area.”
Citing statutory backing, he referenced 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. According to him, “the Olu of Warri has never claimed statutory recognition in Sapele Local Government Area because there is no indigenous Itsekiri community in Sapele.”
The senator further dismissed any authority by Chief Uduaghan to question the Okpe monarch, noting that the Alema of Warri is “not a traditional chieftaincy title indigenous to Sapele.” He recalled that 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 contentious 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“All intelligence reports relied upon by Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan have been overtaken and superseded by this judgment,” Dafinone stated, adding that ownership of Sapele land is now res judicata between the Okpe and Itsekiri peoples. “The matter is not open to argument, debate or contestation.”
Quoting directly from the West African Court of Appeal judgment, he recalled the court’s damning assessment of the Itsekiri claim, describing it as “impudent,” while affirming that “for all practical purposes, the whole area now claimed was formerly farmed by Sobos,” the colonial name for the Okpe people.
The judgment, he said, also established that “after the Nana War of 1894, a large number of Jekris ran for refuge to Sapele and obtained the permission of the Sobos to settle, giving customary ‘dashes’ for that privilege.” The courts further held that the Okpe people “had exercised exclusive rights of ownership up till the time the Government obtained a lease of the land” in 1908.
Dafinone noted that these findings were never appealed to the Privy Council, making them binding and creating what he described as “issue estoppel” against any renewed Itsekiri claim over Sapele land. He stressed that subsequent Supreme Court decisions, including Muvunum v. Achydoma and Madam Ukoli Oleji v. Washman Ogodo, consistently affirmed Itsekiri settlements in Sapele as customary tenancies granted by Okpe families.
Beyond the legal issues, the senator warned against inflammatory rhetoric, stating: “The peaceful disposition of the Okpe people is not a sign of weakness. Civility must never be mistaken for submission.” He called on security agencies, including the Inspector-General of Police, DSS and Military Intelligence, to treat references to communal crisis in the caveat as “an apparent instigation of 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 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 has “neither property nor investment in Sapele” and should not instigate crisis there.
He concluded by urging all residents to preserve Sapele’s long-standing harmony, warning that “peace is sustained by responsibility, not arrogance,” and insisting that “what is unacceptable to one ethnic group must not be encouraged against another.”
