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Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has sacked the paramount ruler of Ogboinbiri community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Chief Okosughe Benson Eseimokumo, following a prolonged crisis in the area.
The governor also dissolved the community’s council of chiefs, the community development committee and the youth body. He made this announcement on Thursday during an event at the Government House, Yenagoa.
The move follows a violent clash in the community on Tuesday, which reportedly led to loss of lives and destruction of property, prompting the state government to impose a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
Diri directed his deputy, Peter Akpe, and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Thompson Amule, to create an interim committee to oversee the community’s affairs pending the restoration of peace. He also ordered security agencies, including the police, to ensure that those involved in the violence are arrested and prosecuted.
He went further to say that the state government is yet to formally recognise Eseimokumo as the paramount ruler due to the lingering crisis in the community, and several government efforts to resolve the conflict over the past few years had failed.
He said, “Security is everyone’s business. The state has been peaceful except for the unfortunate recent incident of killing and arson in the Ogboinbiri community. I have been very patient with the Ogboinbiri community. Violent disputes have been ongoing for about two to three years now. I had set up different committees to resolve the lingering conflict there, to no avail. I even directed my deputy to intervene. I invited the traditional ruler and the youths to my office in Yenagoa, and, yet, recently, there was killing and burning of houses.”
The governor encouraged residents to embrace peace, warning that the government would not tolerate further violence in the area.
“The paramount ruler of Ogboinbiri is hereby sacked as he has yet to be recognised by the state government. I was waiting for peace to be restored before we could recognise him, but unfortunately, I am very sure he cannot hold that community together. We must say no to the evil acts in Ogboinbiri.
“We cannot afford to kill ourselves for pecuniary gains or for whatever reason. Ogboinbiri is an oil-producing community, and I keep telling them that what they are receiving are peanuts compared to what the oil companies get from Ogboinbiri,” he said.
