Oboro community denies abduction allegation, says three youths were arrested over alleged trespass

— Community leaders hand suspects to police
— Bomadi DPO confirms incident, says case transferred to Ughelli South

By Chancel Bomadi Sunday

BURUTU – The leadership of Oboro community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State has denied allegations that its members abducted youths from neighbouring Alagbabiri community in Ughelli South Local Government Area, describing the claim as false and misleading.

The community said the three persons allegedly taken to its area were apprehended on August 3, 2026, while allegedly trespassing on Oboro farmland and taking agricultural produce, including palm fruits and cassava, as well as fish.

In a statement signed by the community chairman, Mr Selebi Tarebi, the Oboro leadership said the suspects were not abducted but were handed over to the police in Bomadi for investigation.

Oboro, an Ijaw community in Burutu LGA, and Alagbabiri, an Urhobo community in neighbouring Ughelli South LGA, have been involved in a dispute over land and other resources.

The Oboro leadership said it decided to hand the suspects over to the police rather than take the law into its own hands.

“We wish to address and categorically refute the false, misleading and malicious press statement recently issued by the Alagbabiri community,” the statement said.

The community accused the authors of the allegation of attempting to portray themselves as victims and divert attention from what it described as alleged trespass on Oboro ancestral land.

It said, “On August 3, 2026, law-abiding members of Oboro Community apprehended some Alagbabiri youths while they were actively trespassing on customary Oboro land, stealing agricultural produce and aquatic assets, specifically palm fruits, fish and uprooted cassava.

“Choosing not to take the law into their own hands, the residents of Oboro peacefully handed over the trespassers, along with the recovered stolen items, to the Divisional Police Headquarters in Bomadi for formal investigation.”

The community alleged that the abduction claim was intended to conceal the circumstances surrounding the arrest, while also accusing Alagbabiri residents of encroaching on its farmland and waterways.

Oboro leaders also presented their account of the history of the land dispute, claiming that the community shares a boundary with Bomadi Community and that the founders of Alagbabiri were settled across the Forcados River by the Bomadi people.

According to the statement, a boundary dispute between Bomadi and Oboro was previously adjudicated by the Native/Tribal Court in Bomadi, which it said delivered a judgment in favour of Oboro in 1951.

“Oboro Community remains a peaceful, law-abiding neighbour committed to constitutional order.

However, we will not fold our arms and allow our ancestral heritage, economic survival and food security to be eroded by illegal land grabs, agitators and media propagandists,” the statement added.

The community appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the Delta State Commissioner of Police to intervene and ensure a transparent investigation into the matter.

It specifically called for the transfer of the case from the Ughelli Area Command to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Asaba, for what it described as an impartial and thorough investigation.

“We also call on the Delta State Government to call the leaders and self-styled agitators of Alagbabiri community to order, who should direct their residents to immediately cease all forms of trespass on Oboro farmlands and water bodies,” the community said.

However, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Bomadi Police Division, CSP John Emmanuel, confirmed that the three persons were brought to his station but said they were later transferred to the appropriate police division in Ughelli South.

“Yes, the issue between the two communities was brought to my station, and the communities involved are not from Bomadi LGA,” Emmanuel said.

He explained that residents of Oboro had arrested three persons from a community in Ughelli South LGA over an allegation that they had stolen about 12 bunches of palm fruits.

“The Oboro community people said they decided to bring them here because Burutu, the headquarters of Burutu LGA, is too far from here,” he said.

According to the DPO, the matter was transferred the following day to the Otujeremi Police Division in Ughelli South LGA for further investigation.

The police clarification indicates that the three persons were brought to the Bomadi station following their arrest by Oboro residents, but does not support the claim that they were abducted.