Urhobo condemn kidnappers of Ijaw traditional ruler in Kokori Following the abduction of the Pere of Oporomor Kingdom in Bayelsa State, Chief Augustin Ebikeme, Pere Ekere, the Urhobo have condemned the dastardly act.The Ijaw traditional ruler, who doubles as the priest of the Egbesu deity was abducted by unknown gunmen two Sundays ago at Kokori in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.The Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), which spoke on behalf of the Urhobo nation, condemned in strong terms the kidnap of the traditional ruler.President-General of UPU, Chief Joe Omene, while addressing journalists last weekend in Mosogar, Ethiope West Local Government Area of the state, sued for peace between the Ijaws and Urhobos.He expressed optimism that the monarch would be released with immediate effect if he was actually held anywhere within the Urhobo kingdom.Chief Omene, who suspected a political undertone over the kidnap of the Ijaw royal father, also advised the Ijaw nation to beware of the prevailing politicking within the state.According to the Urhobo leaders, “Politicians can do anything including kidnapping, to sabotage the existing peaceful relationship between the Urhobo and the Ijaw nations, with a view to truncating the 2015 agenda of the two ethnic groups, to their advantage. They too are good students of history and they know that the Ijaws and the Urhobos are brothers, and politically working in unison.“The Ijaw people should also realise that for some time now, some Urhobo people have been kidnapped and are presumed to be held up till this moment in Ijaw enclaves. The Urhobos have not taken war to Ijaw land because we know that there are selfish politicians at it. If their king is being kidnapped in Kokori, they should equally know that politicians are at it again; their mission is to cause disaffection between the two ethnic groups with a view to hijacking the 2015 election. But the good news I have for them is that they will fail.“We have to advise our Ijaw brothers not to try anything like war with the Urhobo nation as a whole or any part of it as we hear them threaten as that would result to chaos.“We should all exercise restraint as the security agencies do their job. Itis all about politics, I know all the victims of political kidnapping in Urhobo and Ijaw nations will regain their freedom,” he noted.It will be recalled that the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) had, last week, threatened to invade Kokori if the Ijaw traditional ruler was not released, but this has not yielded the desired result.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 08:44:16 +0000
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