The initiative, which has been a succour to thousands of folks across 18 local government areas do far be disrupted by hoodlums believed to be youths from Aladja community in Udu Local Government Area on Sunday evening.
A source told TribuneOnline on phone Monday morning that armed youths purportedly from Aladja community allegedly attacked the convoy of the wife Mrs Okowa when headed for Ogbe-Ijoh ahead of Monday in continuation of the medical outreach.
The youths had reportedly barricaded the road leading to Aladja from where they swooped on the advance team of the governor’s wife.
Scores of medical personnel and other supporting staff were said to have been badly injured while vehicles conveying them were vandalised.
The attack a day before the exercise in rural communities in Warri South Local Government Area of the state has been halted consequently.
Chief Monday Keme, a youth leader from Ogbe-Ijoh decried the development, accusing Aladja youths of breaching the fragile peace in the area.
He said the attack of Mrs Okowa’s advance team convoy, took place on Sunday evening when going ahead to put things in place for Monday’s medical outreach to Ogbe-Ijoh.
He blamed the policemen who were drafted to quell the ambush for not arresting any of the hoodlums whom he said were armed to the teeth.
ALSO READ: We do not have enough land for ranching – Southeast governors
The medical team, which started the free medical outreach a week ago in Asaba, then Warri at the weekend, had treated over 2,000 patients on various ailments and distributing free drugs.
Meanwhile, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), chairman, Ogbe-ijoh chapter, Comrade Smart Okosu, in a statement on Monday condemned the attack.
He said, “It is unthinkable for members of any community within the state to attack the convoy of the wife of the Governor of the state”.
He described Aladja community youths as “lawless and dominated by criminally minded persons including the high level of leadership”.
The IYC Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Clan called for the arrest and prosecution of the Aladja Community leaders including Mr Jite Brown; Chairman of Udu Local Government Area, Chairman of Aladja Community; Elias Dogene, Chief T. C. Wiliki, Alhaji Dauda and other Aladja leaders whom it alleged sponsored the attack.
Mr Wisdom Onatomre, one of Aladja youth leaders, did not acknowledge calls made to his phone on Monday.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta State Police Command, DSP Andrew Aniamaka, could immediately respond to calls made to his phone. He rather asked this reporter to send a text message which he has yet to respond to as of the time of filing this report.
TribuneOnline recalls that the twin communities of Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh have been on each other’s throat from time immemorial over a piece of land demarcating the two communities.
Subsequent governments had waded into the dispute with committees of inquiry set up and white papers churned out while the governments had lacked the willpower to execute the white papers.
Bloodletting, arson as well as kidnappings have been a lot of the two brotherly communities of Urhobo and Ijaw ethnic stocks since the boundary dispute started.
and then