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400 Itsekiri, Ijaw Vacate Illegally-Occupied Property in Warri

Vanguard (Lagos)
NEWS
September 16, 2004
Posted to the web September 16, 2004

By Emma Amaize
Warri
DELTA State government recorded a milestone yesterday in its efforts in
restoring an enduring peace to the troubled Warri as more than 400 Itsekiri and
Ijaw warlords vacated the property of the different ethnic groups which they
had seized and illegally occupied since the Warri crisis erupted.
An Ijaw leader, Mr. Samuel Forteta told Vanguard that in the spirit of the new
accord between the Itsekiri and Ijaw, he slept in Pessu, an Itsekiri territory
on Tuesday night, something he had not done in the past three years and he was
entertained by the Itsekiri, adding that "they even gave me a woman and bought
me beer."
Delta state Commissioner for Inter-Ethnic Relations and Conflicts Resolution,
Mr. Ovuozorie Macaulay who personally supervised the pulling out exercise urged
the Ijaw and Itsekiri beneficiaries to use the money government gave them to
re-settle themselves and make life more meaningful as anyone of them caught
causing trouble again in Warri would be treated as a criminal by the Joint Task
Force of the military.
Some of the beneficiaries went to town immediately, paid rents for new
apartments and bought motorcycles with the money they were paid.
Speaking to newsmen in Warri, the Commissioner said "the beneficiaries of our
rehabilitation programme are victims of the Warri ethnic crisis that have been
taking refuge illegally in other peoples' property within the Warri
metropolis."
He said that the real owners of the building would be given back their property
and they would be free to use the place once again after the exercise but he
could not guarantee whether all the beneficiaries, mainly unemployed youths
would use the money for the intended purpose. The Commissioner, however, said
the beneficiaries had been counseled on how best to utilize the money given to
them.
All those who received their money Tuesday and yesterday were asked not to
return to the places they vacated or go about with AK 47 rifles to rob people
as they would not be spared if caught perpetuating any more havoc in the state
under the guise of ethnic crisis.
About N60 million was said to have been spent by the government on the warlords
before they agreed to vacate the buildings which they illegally acquired and
converted to their own.

   

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