Ijaw Traditional Leader Rejects Claims Over Ijaw Territory and Identity

I speak for the ancestral identity of the Ijaw people and urge neighbouring communities not to claim Ijaw towns, villages or territories as belonging to another ethnic nation. The Ijaw homeland spans 86 clans and 2,848 communities across present-day Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. Our people have maintained their identity despite state boundaries, migration, intermarriage and trade with neighbouring groups. Where history is disputed, the evidence should be examined through oral traditions, historical records, archaeology, geography and credible scholarship. Peaceful coexistence must not be taken as a surrender of identity, and the Ijaw Nation will continue to document and defend its ancestral heritage. The statement also reiterates support for Ijaw self-determination, citing a referendum-related court case and documents submitted to the United Nations.

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