Ebira Youth Speak On Judgment Ceding Ownership Of Ajaokuta, Lokoja & Kotton-Karfe To Igala Kingdom

Being a Text of Communique’ Issued at the End of an Extraordinary General Congress Session of Ebira Youth Congress (EYC) Held on the 6th June, 2020 at the Council Chamber of Okene Local Government Secretariat.

Preamble:
The 2nd of June, 2020 will no doubt remain an inglorious day in the history of court judgments in Nigeria. The Federal High Court in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, presided over by a pliant Judge who delivered a bizarre judgment, ceding the ownership of Ajaokuta, Lokoja and Kotton-Karfe to the Igala Kingdom, the suit which hidden motive, among others, was to ignite a large-scale ethnic conflict in Kogi State. The youths of Ebira Tao ethnic nationality, having deciphered the decoy, elected to be wiser and circumspect in the face of this unwarranted provocation.

Ebira youths are poised to resist the usual antics of their neighbours orchestrating in-house disruption of peace with all the unimaginable attendant effects on our socio-political and economic lives.

The need to manage this utter insult on our sensibility in a civilized manner informed the convocation of an extra-ordinary General Congress session of Ebira youths.

At the well-attended session, with over 73 youth clubs and associations from across Ebiraland represented, the following observations/questions were raised:

(1) At what point did the Igala Kingdom realize she was the owner of the said areas? This question became necessary against the background that in all of her sojourns, initially from Onitsha to Kabba and Benue provinces, and back to the present Kogi State, nothing ever indicated or supported their curious claims of owning Ajaokuta and the other affected areas. Not even their much-talked-about Okura state has anything in its map to support this curious claims by Igala Kingdom.

(2) One wonders why the plaintiff (the Igala Kingdom) avoided joining the Ebiras and the native occupants of other affected areas in the suit if she was truly after justice? We are forced to consider this claim as a mere smoke-screen!

(3) That, it is most unfortunate that His Royal Highness, Atta Igala, who doubles as the Chairman of Kogi State Traditional Council of Chiefs, could jettison His revered and expected role of a royal father to the entire state to championing spurious claims that will certainly incite and ignite ethnic crisis.

(4) That, for the umpteenth time, the Igalas have laid unsubstantiated claims to our God-given land and resources. This must stop if we must all co-habit peacefully.

RESOLUTIONS
In view of the forgoing, the Session resolved that, the youths of Ebira will remain unprovoked until all civil and legal avenues are exhaustively utilized in our determination to end these attacks by our Igala neighbours.

The Session came to an end with a warm commendation to His Royal Majesty, Dr. Ado Ibrahim (CoN), the Ohinoyi of Ebira land; the leadership of Ebira Peoples Association (EPA) and His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, the Executive Governor of Kogi State, for the diplomatic handling of the unwarranted attack by our intruders and on other ethnic groups in the state. The session however warned that the youths of Ebira may be left with the option of self-help at seeking redress should the appropriate authorities fail to prevent a repeat of same or related insult on the good people of Kogi Central Senatorial District.

Signed:

Comrade MomohJimoh Ondeku,
Secretary-General,
For and on behalf of the Congress