•As Edjekota Community decries the continuous violation of the court order by the Ewu community
By Matthias Ogbagah & Ufuoma Idoroh
UGHELLI – An Inevitable Inter-communal crisis is imminent in Delta State as two communities of Delta State, Edjekota–Ogor in Ughelli North and Ewu–Urhobo in Ughelli South councils, are set to draw the battle lines if the Delta State government does not act fast.
Rainbow Newspaper reliably gathered that tension is mounting high as parties from the Ewu-Urhobo community in the disputed land case allegedly violated the court order and the Delta State order barred both parties from entering the land in dispute.
Our correspondent authoritatively gathered that tensions are visibly fuming as the Edjekota-Ogor community called on the Delta State government to call the Ohwodo family of the Ewu-Urhobo community to order before the issues snowball into a total showdown.
Speaking to Rainbow Newspaper at Ughelli, the president general of Edjekota-Ogor worldwide, Pastor Oghenemakpor Uyoh decried the continuous violation of the sustaining court orders and Delta State orders on both parties.
He alleged that the families of Ohwodo of Ewu-Urhobo community in Ughelli South on Sunday night ignored the order of the court and the Delta State government order by destroying to its foundation an ongoing building project on a parcel of land not in the litigated land case.
“The building they destroyed to its very foundation is not in the land in dispute; the building has been there before the crisis that rocked both communities in April this year.
“The owner of the building started the foundation of the building long before the crisis, when he was building the land hoodlums entered the premises, vandalized all the rods erected for the building. This caused the owner of the building to pause the work till recently, when he went back to continuing working at the site.
It would be recalled that the same Ohwodo family recently accused the entire Edjekota community of selling 15 hectares of the land in dispute and erecting new buildings on the land.
However, their claims were met with brick walls as Pastor Oghenemakpor Uyoh fired back saying that the land in dispute is lying fallow pending the outcome of the committee set up by the Delta State government.
“Even before they went there to arrest our people who are carrying out their legitimate farm work on the said land early this year, which resulted in a crisis that led to the death of some persons from our community, the issue has been in court in Edjophe.
He disclosed further that last month, the families of Ohwodo of Ewu-Urhobo cried foul to disparage the pubic that Edjekota–Ogor people laid siege to Ewu-Urhobo and gave false information to the Nigeria police that Edjekota people violated the Delta State and the court, and fifteen hectares of land in the disputed land.
According to him, the police and council chairmen of Ughelli North South’s preliminary findings indicate that there is no iota of truth in their allegation, and they were seriously cautioned.
While putting the records straight for record purposes, Pastor Oghenemakpor Uyoh said that the land dispute is between a particular family in Ewu-Urhobo community (Ohwodo family) and some families in Edjekota-Ogor, not between the entire Edjekota community and Ewu-Urhobo community, as the Ohwodo family is always claiming.
