Communities resolve 70-year-old land dispute

The perennial land dispute between two communities in Bayelsa and Delta states has been resolved.

The team leader of the Bayelsa and Delta Conflict Management Alliance, Mr. Ebruke Onajite Esike has disclosed.

He said the group’s interventions followed complaints by one of the disputing communities.

The sides involved are Trofani, in Sagbama local council of Bayelsa State, Ikpidi-Irri in Isoko South, and Onyah in Ndokwa East councils of Delta State.

It was leant that the communities had been in protracted litigation that spanned over 70 years.

Fresh hostilities were said to have occurred between Onyah/Ikpide-Irri and Trofani/Ikpide-Irri, following the discovery of oil in the zone.

It was further aggravated by the construction of a five-kilometre road in the area by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Esike said the body intervened to prevent the crisis from escalating to the level of Ogbe-Ijoh and Aladja dispute.

The Guardian leant that the peaceful resolution arose from several meetings by representatives of the three communities in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

The President General, Michael Omojefe, led the Ikpide-Irri community, while Bernard Onyenokwe led Onyah group and the Prime Minister; Abel Akemi represented the Trofani community.

The leaders lamented that the dispute had impacted negatively on the economic and social lives of the people.

The representatives agreed that mediation was a better alternative in resolving the crisis, as several efforts made in the past had been unsuccessful.

They promised to cooperate with the platform to explore all possible avenues to restore peace in the affected communities.

The leaders stressed that the resolution became necessary, because they have realised that no meaningful development could thrive without peace.

Esike explained that the management alliance was a multi-stakeholders platform that is supported by Stakeholders Democracy Network.