The Paramount Ruler of Egberu-Ndoki Kingdom, His Royal Highness Eze (Amb.) Boniface Ejikeme-Akawor, has warned that the lingering Ogoni–Oyigbo land ownership dispute could degenerate into a wider crisis if urgent steps are not taken to resolve it.
The monarch raised the alarm amid growing tensions between Koroma Community in Tai Local Government Area and Egberu-Ndoki Kingdom in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State. He cautioned that the prolonged disagreement is already unsettling parts of the state and called on political authorities to intervene swiftly to prevent further escalation and restore lasting peace.
Speaking with newsmen in Egberu- Ndoki Kingdom, on the deepening face-off between the people of Egberu- Ndoki Kingdom and her Koroma- Tai neighbors over donkey years ago, Eze Akawor,’Onye- Nwe- Ali XIII of Egberu- Ndoki Kingdom, called for immediate ‘Rivers State Security Summit’, stressing that the dispute had claimed many lives and avalanche of farmlands and properties worth millions of naira destroyed.
He lamented that the crisis has out- grown its communal origins and now poses a governance and security challenge.
“When land dispute last longer than generations, they stop being legal questions and start becoming security threats”, he said.
Eze Boniface Akawor, who is also a member of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers’ noted that repeated security deployments, unaccompanied by binding mediation and legal clarity, have merely postponed violence rather than resolved it.
According to him, Governor Siminalayi Fubara must personally lead the peace process to reassure all sides of fairness and neutrality.
“Peace is rarely achieved by distance. It is achieved when leadership steps close enough to confront truth”, Eze Akawor added.
The monarch maintained that the Egberu- Ndoki Kingdom and Koroma Community land dispute is no longer just a community issue, it is a defining test of governance in Rivers State. He stressed that history has practically shown that unresolved land conflicts, when ignored, often return with greater intensity.
He, however, admonished Governor Siminalayi Fubara not to ignore the call as silence could be misread as indifference, and delay mistaken for weakness.
“Leadership is not measured by how long one waits, but by how quickly one acts when peace is endangered”, he remarked.
Eze Boniface Akawor further explained that a security summit, when initiated by the government, properly structured would offer an opportunity to confront historical claims openly, validate boundaries scientifically, and enforce outcomes legally.
“You do not govern conflict by hoping it fades; you govern it by resolving it amicably”.
“The Ogoni-Oyigbo stand-off illustrates the limits of force-driven conflict prevention and management.
“While security patrols may suppress outbreaks, they cannot erase memory, identify, or historical grievances” he declared.
The Niger Delta monarch argued that unresolved land disputes create fertile ground for criminal infiltration, youth radicalization, and political manipulation.
“Force can freeze a conflict, but only justice can dismantle it,” he observed.
Eze Boniface Akawor, therefore, disclosed that without a final, enforceable resolution frameworks, Rivers State risks turning episodic unrest into a permanent security liability.
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