Residents of 19 coastal and oil producing communities in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have appealed to the Federal and Ondo State Governments to urgently intervene in a land dispute with neighbouring Itsekiri communities in Delta State, warning that tension is rising and could spark an inter communal clash.
For generations, residents have lived and worked around the creeks of Ugbo Kingdom, but fear is now growing over what they describe as incursions by armed persons from a neighbouring Itsekiri community into land they consider their ancestral territory.
The disputed area, known as Odun Ebiwonjumi, sits close to the Atlantic Ocean and offshore oil activities, a proximity residents believe is fuelling growing interest in the land from outside parties.
Community leaders are calling for urgent dialogue between the Ondo and Delta State governments, alongside elders from both ethnic groups, to resolve the matter peacefully before it escalates.
For the Ilaje residents, the stakes go beyond property lines, touching on their livelihoods, their ancestral heritage and the long standing peace between the two communities.
By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed
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