18 March 2014, Warri – A factional leader in the oil-rich Ugborodo community, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, Chief Thomas Ereyitomi, has blamed the recurring violence in the community on the failure of security operatives to challenge the unlawful eviction of some indigenes from their homes in Aruton (Ode-Ugborodo) by armed youths.
Ereyitomi spoke to Vanguard in Warri on the renewed clashes between supporters of the warring factions in the leadership tussle in Ugborodo, host to the Federal Government’s multi-billion dollar Export Processing Zone.
Breaking his prolonged silence on the lingering crisis, Ereyitomi, said: “It is sad that we (Ugborodo people) still delight in fighting and harming ourselves over needless differences. This is continuing despite the different undertakings parties had signed to keep the peace as the Federal Government mediates with a view to finding a lasting solution to the crisis.
“The real reason for the renewed fighting is because some armed persons have driven others from their homes in Ode-Ugborodo. When a man is chased away from his home by force of arm, the tendency is for the exiled victims to fight back.”
He called on security operatives to, in the interim, take control of the situation “with robust presence by ensuring that nobody’s right to free movement or settlement was infringed upon. Above all, there is need for urgency in prevailing on parties to respect the Federal Government’s peace intervention by respecting the terms of settlement for speedy resolution of the crisis in Ugborodo.”
– Egufe Yafugborhi, Vanguard