President of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), Prince Kehinde Taiga says the lingering land dispute between Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh communities in Udu and Warri South-West Local Government Areas of Delta State, is being masterminded by some influential people, including desperate politicians within the area.
He stated this while condemning renewed attacks which erupted in the two communities recently. He said there are ‘behind the scene forces that have continued to fuel the communal clash’, which he said has lasted for decades.
According to Prince Taiga, the age-long crisis has since gone out of hand and has now become a money-making venture for its sponsors, who pay non-indigene hirelings to attack the communities and still receive intervention packages from the government.
He said, “The Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh crisis has lingered for too long, since the 1980s, and it has gone beyond communal clash. It is now being sponsored by some people who see it as an avenue for making money from the government.
“These people hire and sponsor hoodlums to attack indigenes of both communities. At the end of the day, they are still the ones who receive money from government under the pretext of carrying out investigations or trying to curb the crisis.”
The CDHR President decried the continuous loss of lives and property being witnessed in the two communities as a result of the dispute. He called on the Delta State Government to beef up security in the area as well as wade in, to resolve the crisis once and for all.
“Just few days ago, there were fresh attacks in the two communities; some people lost their lives and some are still in the hospital. Unfortunately, this has been the case over the years. Anytime there is relative peace in the area, the sponsors of the crisis will mastermind fresh attacks, in order to get money from government.”
“The state government should carry out a thorough investigation into the dispute, and ensure that those who have been fueling the crisis are brought to book. And since every land belongs to government, according to the Nigerian Constitution, government should take over the disputed land or make a proper demarcation to forestall further breakdown of law and order in the area.”
