When vigilant officers of the Department of State Services, DSS, captured 50 AK47 rifles, six pump-action shotguns and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition during a covert operation in Asaba, Delta State, it’s significance wasn’t lost on indigenes of the state.
The true import of the haul was further exposed when the agency allegedly arrested an Itsekiri serving in the British Army (name withheld), reported to have procured the weapons at the behest of one “Collins.”
Multiple sources confirmed that operatives of the DSS Delta Command apprehended the prime suspect, a major in the British Army, and several associates in connection with the deadly weapons.
The British army officer was reportedly arrested in Lagos as he was about to board a flight to the United Kingdom, while his associates were apprehended in Asaba.
A source stated that “an Itsekiri serving in the British Army is alleged to have procured weapons and ammunition at the behest of one Collins to instigate unrest in Warri.
‘’During a covert exchange near Asaba in Delta State, operatives from the DSS Delta Command apprehended the arms supplier and several associates, seizing over 50 AK-47 rifles, six pump-action shot guns, and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition.
‘’Shortly thereafter, DSS agents in Lagos intercepted the British Major as he tried to cross Nigeria’s border en route to the United Kingdom.
“All suspects are now in DSS custody. The DSS will carry out a full and transparent investigation and hold anyone found plotting tribal conflicts to account.’’
Those in the know told to this newspaper that some elements within the Itsekiri ethnic nationality in Warri could be preparing for war over a Supreme Court ordered re-delineation of electoral constituencies by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; a decision which seems to have created a new political reality in the area.
While their Urhobo and Ijaw neighbours are said to have welcomed the new delineations as a fair expression of the true demographic structure of the Warri Federal Constituency, the Itsekiris are reportedly miffed at the development.
In the new electoral map, Warri North comprises of 18 wards with the Ijaw communities having 10, and the Itsekiri eight. Warri South West comprising of 19 wards has Ijaw with 15 and Itsekiri four.
Similarly, Warri South comprising of 20 wards grants Ijaw three wards, Itsekiri 8 and Urhobo 9.
But the Itsekiris, under the aegis of Itsekiri Youths Elites (IYE), are having none of it. In their official reaction developments in the area, they vowed to resist INEC’s new electoral map, even as they accused the Urhobos of planning to remove the Itsekiri Warri Council Chairman, Agbateyiniro Weyinimi Isaac, and replacing him with the Urhobo Vice Chairman, Kingsley Edafiadjebre.
Shortly after declaration of the delineation by INEC, Eyara community in Okere-Urhobo, Warri, was allegedly attacked by yet to be identified persons.
Indigenes of the community claim that the attack was sponsored and executed by persons aggrieved by the new electoral boundaries. They have similarly accused the Chairman of Warri South Local Government Council, Isaac, of refusing to respond to the threat to indigenous Urhobos in the area, and have called on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, to sanction him.
But while the Itsekiris grumbled, scores of Ijaw youths marched to the INEC headquarters in Abuja in support of the exercise. Drawn from the Gbaramatu, Egbema, Diebiri, and Isaba communities, they said the INEC delineation exercise was fair and in line with the Supreme Court judgment.
They commended INEC for what they called a transparent process, which they said marked the end of “years of political marginalisation of the Ijaw people in the constituency.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission had earlier presented the report on the delineation of wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency to the Ijaw, Itsekiri, and Urhobo ethnic nationalities.
The INEC chairman’s representative, State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Etekamba Umoren, at the presentation held in Asaba, the Delta State capital, said that the fresh ward and polling unit delineation fieldwork was prompted by the Supreme Court judgment of December 22, 2022, which ordered it to conduct the exercise.
Copies of the delineation report were received by Chief Victor Okumagba, Dr. Andrew Igban and Dr. Joe Bisina on behalf of the Urhobo, Itsekiri, and Ijaw ethnic nationalities, respectively.
In his address during the meeting, the INEC chairman noted that the meeting was the fifth engagement with the stakeholders since the apex court verdict, which mandated the Commission to carry out the exercise in the three local government areas in the Warri federal constituency.
He urged the stakeholders to study the report and respond to it appropriately, as the commission was ready to adopt the report as a working document in line with the Supreme Court directive.