Stop the False Claims on Court of Appeal Judgment – Hon. Jeffrey Pere Oromoni

• Court of Appeal did not rule on Itsekiri ownership of Ogbe-Ijoh land

• Case concerned stipend payments to the Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh

• Judgment struck out due to statute of limitation, not merits

Hon. (Barr.) Jeffrey Pere Oromoni has issued a strong clarification regarding misleading reports circulating on 17th December 2025, falsely claiming that the Court of Appeal affirmed Itsekiri ownership and territorial authority over Ogbe-Ijoh land in Warri South Local Government Area.

According to Hon. Oromoni, these claims are entirely false and a misrepresentation of the Court’s ruling. He emphasized that the Court of Appeal made no pronouncement on land ownership, governance, or the territorial rights of any ethnic group in Ogbe-Ijoh.

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He outlined the facts of the judgment as follows:

1. The case before the Court concerned stipend payments to the Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh, not land ownership.
2. The Warri South Local Government Council had been paying stipends to the late Pere but stopped payments after His Royal Majesty Mobene III ascended the throne.
3. Mobene III sued the Council for continuation of payments.
4. The Court struck out the case because it was filed outside the three-month statutory limit for suing public officers in Nigeria.
5. Ownership and territorial authority of Ogbe-Ijoh land was never part of the case.
6. The Court recognized the Ijaw people as an indigenous community in Warri South LGA.
7. A case struck out on statute of limitation grounds is not decided on its merits and cannot be interpreted as conferring ownership on any party.
8. The Court did not declare Ogbe-Ijoh land as Itsekiri land, nor did it deny the Ogbe-Ijoh people their ancestral rights.

Hon. Oromoni condemned attempts to twist a procedural ruling into an ownership declaration, calling it reckless propaganda intended to mislead the public and inflame ethnic tensions.

He urged the Itsekiri Kingdom and other interested parties to obtain and read the certified true copy of the judgment rather than spreading false conclusions.

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“The Ogbe-Ijoh people of Warri South Local Government Area remain a recognized and legitimate indigenous community. No misinformation can alter historical facts or judicial records,” Hon. Oromoni stated.

He called on Nigerians, the media, and authorities to verify court judgments before amplifying misleading narratives.