Tension in Ogbe-Ijoh as community youths hold 34 council staff hostage

The communal dispute between Ogbe-Ijoh Community in Warri South-West Local Government Area and Aladja in Udu Local Government Area, both in Delta State took another dimension in the morning of Monday January 22, when some Ogbe-Ijoh community youths reportedly held about 34 staffers of Warri South-West Local Government Council hostage for close to two hours.

A credible source at the Local Government Council told Fresh Angle International in an exclusive chat Tuesday January 23 that some of the staff were already in their offices and others were walking to their duty posts when they heard gunshots.

The staff who were on their way to their offices allegedly attempted to dash back to the jetty on hearing the gunshots, but had to first hint their colleagues who were already seated at their offices. But to their surprise, they were prevented from boarding boats at the Jetty by some of the Ogbe-Ijoh community indigenes.

According to our source, the affected staff were verbally assaulted and it took the intervention of Warri South-West Chairman of NULGE, Comrade Sophia Omoregbe to save the tense situation from degenerating into a bloody affair.

Omoregbe reportedly informed the Ogbe-Ijoh Monarch, who in turn acted swiftly and the abducted workers were asked to leave after about two hours.

Your Soar-Away International Tabloid gathered that no member of the political class or council executive were on duty when the incident occurred, even as the Ogbe-Ijoh youths have allegedly accused one Itsekiri born Tony Edema, a senior staff of Warri South Local Government Council of being a spy for Aladja people in the ongoing land dispute.

As at Tuesday January 23 when this report was filed, staffers of Warri South-West Local Government Council stayed off duty for safety reason, even as the Delta State Government was yet to take decisive action to end the age-long boundary dispute.

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