The Alema of Warri Kingdom, Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, has formally asked the Federal Ministry of Environment to discountenance protests by the Udogun Okpe (Orode-in-Council) over the naming and location of the proposed Abigborodo oil field, insisting that the field rightly belongs to Abigborodo Community in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.
In a detailed rejoinder addressed to the Honourable Minister of Environment and the Permanent Secretary, Uduaghan said claims published by the Okpe leadership in relation to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) public display for the proposed Abigborodo Field in PPL 220 by Navante Exploration and Production Limited were riddled with “half-truths and outright falsehoods” and required urgent correction in the interest of history and due process.
The Warri traditional leader, who administers Abigborodo, Ugbekoko and Utonyatserre under the overlordship of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, maintained that the Abigborodo oil field, as identified by Navante, was correctly named and located, noting that the field was previously operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited, which recognised Abigborodo Community as the host and rightful landowners.
He traced the dispute to colonial-era records, stressing that the Udogun Okpe never administered the Okpe-Sobo Forest Reserve. According to him, documentary evidence from 1931 shows that Okpe authorities themselves informed colonial administrators that they had no land to contribute to the proposed forest reserve, a position backed by certified records from the National Archives in Ibadan.
Uduaghan further explained that when the Okpe-Sobo Forest Reserve was being constituted, representatives of the Olu of Warri wrote to the colonial government in July 1932, asserting that the land in question belonged to the Itsekiri nation and requesting the cancellation of the reserve. Although the request was ignored and the reserve constituted, Abigborodo indigenes continued to farm the land, leading to arrests and a landmark court case in Sapele in March 1940, where a magistrate discharged and acquitted the farmers after affirming Abigborodo ownership.
He added that subsequent petitions by the then Alema of Abigborodo, Okenedo, prompted investigations by colonial authorities, which upheld Abigborodo’s claims, produced sketch maps of excised Abigborodo lands, and led to formal recommendations and legal instruments redefining forest reserve boundaries under the Forest Ordinance.
The Alema disclosed that the Delta State Government later released additional land to Abigborodo Community in 1996, while security investigations, judicial panels and state-led probes—including one ordered by former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa—confirmed cases of encroachment and upheld Abigborodo’s ownership of the disputed land.
He also dismissed arguments that natural features such as “Hole in the Creek” separate Abigborodo from the area, insisting that Abigborodo land extends into parts of Sapele Local Government Area and that historical records affirm Sapele as Itsekiri territory. Court decisions, he added, have equally rejected claims of an “Sapele Okpe Community land.”
Uduaghan stressed that the EIA public display by the Federal Ministry of Environment was strictly an environmental assessment exercise and not a platform to reopen settled land ownership issues, noting that the naming of Abigborodo Field PPL 220 followed established industry and historical practice.
He concluded that all demands and objections raised by the Udogun Okpe were unfounded, reiterating that the land belongs to Abigborodo Community and assuring the Federal Government and stakeholders that the community would guarantee a peaceful and seamless operational environment for Navante Exploration and Production Limited.
