By Nosa Ekhator.
The past few weeks have been so challenging for the people of Amagba village and Ago-Emokpae( okoroma) as both have been seriously engrossed in gun battles over the ownership and control of Ago-Emokpae.
Amagba village, relying on varrious past rullings of the BENIN palace, copies of which were made available to news men in benin, said Ago-Emokpae is a camp under the traditional administratorship of Amagba, a position which the inhabitants of ago- Emokpae disputed.
However, tension rose again over the ownership of the camp when inhabitants of Ago-Emokpae stormed the Palace of the Oba of Benin seeking his majesty's intervention and protection.
These Ago-Emokpae inhabitants who were also at the NUJ PRESS CENTER with placards alledged that their camp was invaded by hoodlums suspected to be Amagba people, stressing that the land in question belongs to them by right.
At each point, the Ago-Emokpae inhabitants fingered a former NDDC commissioner in Edo state and an APC chieftain, Matthew Iduoriyekevwen and another Amagba community leader , Peter owen Erhinmwinorose (aka. Ebo Amagba) as the masterminds of the attack on their camp,thus calling on relevant authorities to help restore peace and safety of lives and property in the aees.
In their separate but swift reactions Matthew Iduoriyekevwen and Peter owen Erhinmwinorose said the position of the inhabitants of Ago Emokpae is far from being the truth stressing that "their cries we're only intended to generate undeserving sentiment"
According to Matthew Iduoriyekevwen, his name will always be a recurring decimal on Amagba matters as long as his father is the odiomwere(traditional head) of the village, stressing that Ago- Emokpae has, for ages, been a camp under Amagba. " We all lived and grew up in Amagba while our fathers farm in Ago-Emokpae and other camps".
"The Emokpaes lived with us in Amagba, schooled in our public school with us, we gave them land to build houses in Amagba where some of them still live till date. They all know this as the truth. The camp was named after their father because he chose to build the his tent (house) there and as such lived there".
Iduoriyekevwen stated further that " living in a place does not confer ownership on an individual" stressing that "both Amagba people and the inhabitants of Ago Emokpae have always lived in peace until the inordinate ambition of one Gaius Emokpae who retired from the Central Bank of Nigeria to become an odiomwere of a non- existing village became ripe.
Gaius Emokpae who, in the past had approached the Amagba village head for the purchase of over fifty(50) plots of land but was refused due to the fact that the intention for the purchase was unclear,will not stop at anything to see his ambition of becoming an odiomwere achieved.
Matthew Iduoriyekevwen however stated that "nobody is against Gaius Emokpae becoming an odiomwere but he should in another place not in our own village".
While to Peter owen Erhinmwinorose (aka Ebo Amagba) "Gaius Emokpae has turned Ago-Emokpae that was a peaceful farm settlement to all of us into a camp of hoodlums, as he has reportedly hired thugs and men of bad characters to maltreat other settlers and farmers in the camp.
According to Ebo- Amagba, " you will remember that some years back this Gaius Emokpae sponsored some hoodlums to attack the Uhrobos and other tribes in the camp, burnt their houses and crops." "We in Amagba had to help to accommodate these people in a resettlement in our town hall in Amagba before we could return them home"
The Amagba & Ago-Emokpae face off is still said to be pending before the palace of the Oba of BENIN even as the police, Edo state command is keeping watch on the matter so that it does not degenerate into a full scale war between communities.
The past few weeks have been so challenging for the people of Amagba village and Ago-Emokpae( okoroma) as both have been seriously engrossed in gun battles over the ownership and control of Ago-Emokpae.
Amagba village, relying on varrious past rullings of the BENIN palace, copies of which were made available to news men in benin, said Ago-Emokpae is a camp under the traditional administratorship of Amagba, a position which the inhabitants of ago- Emokpae disputed.
However, tension rose again over the ownership of the camp when inhabitants of Ago-Emokpae stormed the Palace of the Oba of Benin seeking his majesty's intervention and protection.
These Ago-Emokpae inhabitants who were also at the NUJ PRESS CENTER with placards alledged that their camp was invaded by hoodlums suspected to be Amagba people, stressing that the land in question belongs to them by right.
At each point, the Ago-Emokpae inhabitants fingered a former NDDC commissioner in Edo state and an APC chieftain, Matthew Iduoriyekevwen and another Amagba community leader , Peter owen Erhinmwinorose (aka. Ebo Amagba) as the masterminds of the attack on their camp,thus calling on relevant authorities to help restore peace and safety of lives and property in the aees.
In their separate but swift reactions Matthew Iduoriyekevwen and Peter owen Erhinmwinorose said the position of the inhabitants of Ago Emokpae is far from being the truth stressing that "their cries we're only intended to generate undeserving sentiment"
According to Matthew Iduoriyekevwen, his name will always be a recurring decimal on Amagba matters as long as his father is the odiomwere(traditional head) of the village, stressing that Ago- Emokpae has, for ages, been a camp under Amagba. " We all lived and grew up in Amagba while our fathers farm in Ago-Emokpae and other camps".
"The Emokpaes lived with us in Amagba, schooled in our public school with us, we gave them land to build houses in Amagba where some of them still live till date. They all know this as the truth. The camp was named after their father because he chose to build the his tent (house) there and as such lived there".
Iduoriyekevwen stated further that " living in a place does not confer ownership on an individual" stressing that "both Amagba people and the inhabitants of Ago Emokpae have always lived in peace until the inordinate ambition of one Gaius Emokpae who retired from the Central Bank of Nigeria to become an odiomwere of a non- existing village became ripe.
Gaius Emokpae who, in the past had approached the Amagba village head for the purchase of over fifty(50) plots of land but was refused due to the fact that the intention for the purchase was unclear,will not stop at anything to see his ambition of becoming an odiomwere achieved.
Matthew Iduoriyekevwen however stated that "nobody is against Gaius Emokpae becoming an odiomwere but he should in another place not in our own village".
While to Peter owen Erhinmwinorose (aka Ebo Amagba) "Gaius Emokpae has turned Ago-Emokpae that was a peaceful farm settlement to all of us into a camp of hoodlums, as he has reportedly hired thugs and men of bad characters to maltreat other settlers and farmers in the camp.
According to Ebo- Amagba, " you will remember that some years back this Gaius Emokpae sponsored some hoodlums to attack the Uhrobos and other tribes in the camp, burnt their houses and crops." "We in Amagba had to help to accommodate these people in a resettlement in our town hall in Amagba before we could return them home"
The Amagba & Ago-Emokpae face off is still said to be pending before the palace of the Oba of BENIN even as the police, Edo state command is keeping watch on the matter so that it does not degenerate into a full scale war between communities.
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