Ijaw group storms INEC HQ over unimplemented Warri delineation

Ijaw indigenes of Warri Federal Constituency in Delta State on Monday stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja, demanding that the electoral body implement a ward delineation report backed by a Supreme Court judgment.

The protesters, operating under the banner of Operation Rescue Ijaw Nation Crusaders, said it was their second visit to the commission on the same issue, adding that an earlier promise of a response had gone unfulfilled for more than a year.

Deputy Coordinator of the group, Freeborn Abraye, told journalists that the Supreme Court had in a judgment delivered on December 2, 2022, in the suit Hon. George Timinimi & Others v. INEC (SC.413/2016), ordered INEC to conduct a fresh and constitutionally compliant ward and polling unit delineation exercise in Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South-West Local Government Areas.

He said the court had also ruled that no election or electoral activity should take place in the constituency until the delineation was completed and implemented.

According to Abraye, the exercise was prompted by longstanding allegations of political imbalance among the three ethnic groups in the area — the Ijaw, Urhobo, and Itsekiri — with the Ijaw and Urhobo communities historically underrepresented while the Itsekiri dominated constituency representation.

He said INEC carried out the delineation exercise and produced a field report on April 4, 2025, but had since refused to release or operationalise the final document.

“The Supreme Court directed INEC to carry out a fresh delineation exercise, which it did. But after the exercise, INEC has refused to implement the report. We are here to call on INEC to implement it,” Abraye said.

Another protest leader, Ellington Bakumor, alleged political interference in INEC’s reluctance to act and warned that peaceful elections could not be guaranteed if the commission continued to delay.

“We are tired of begging. This is the second time we are coming here from Warri to Abuja to ask INEC to do the needful. If INEC fails to act, we can no longer guarantee elections in Warri Federal Constituency,” he said.

In a petition signed by the group’s coordinator, Awipi Lawson, the protesters called on INEC to release and implement the delineation report, complete the gazetting process, and suspend all electoral activities in the constituency pending full implementation.

Responding on behalf of the INEC Chairman, an Assistant Director of Security at the commission, Mohammed Ahmad, said the chairman and national commissioners were away on official assignment but assured the group that their petition would be delivered and a response would follow.