The Odion Ogisi family, owners of Warri South Local Government Area in Delta State, has issued a 30-day ultimatum to the Urhobo families of Oghorogbo, Eyekpimi, Eravo, and Onoriobe to pay arrears of a one-pound annual tax imposed on them by a court judgment in 1928.
The ultimatum was announced at a press briefing in Lagos by Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, the eldest member of the Odion Ogisi family and a rights activist.
According to Lori-Ogbebor, her forefather, Odion-Ogisi, originally owned Warri South but generously granted two plots of land to the Urhobo, who came to farm and settle in the area. Over time, she said, the tenants attempted to claim ownership, likely due to their larger numbers.
A legal dispute resulted in a 1928 court ruling affirming the Odion Ogisi family’s ownership of all Warri South lands. The court mandated that the four Urhobo families pay one pound annually and restricted their farming activities to the original two plots unless permitted by the landowners.
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“They flouted the court judgment and have continued to harass the landowners,” Lori-Ogbebor said. “Years later, when they stopped paying, our fathers returned to court. The court reaffirmed the order: they must pay and must not plant any crops or trees without permission.”
She emphasized: “The Urhobo must now start paying one pound yearly from 1928. Our kindness has been taken for granted. We have been assaulted. The land from Odion to Okere belongs to us. We give them 30 days to comply.”
She warned that if the demand is ignored, legal action would follow.
Lori-Ogbebor also cited legal precedent: “Case No. 388/28 of the Native Appeal Court of Warri shows that the Ogisi family owns the Odion land, and Iyara — then head of the Oghorogbo family — and his people were ordered to pay one pound annually to retain possession and farm on the land.”
She concluded that the Odion Ogisi family has sufficient legal documentation to prove their claim to Warri South and invited anyone with contrary evidence to come forward.
