Atuwatse III Coronation Anniversary: AWL Condemns Itsekiri Procession In Igbudu Community

By Ambrose Ologide

The Agbarha Warri League (AWL), a foremost socio-cultural association of the Agbarha Warri people, has strongly condemned the recent procession carried out by Itsekiris in Agbarha Warri community of Igbudu, Warri South Local Government Area, during the celebration of the 4th coronation anniversary of the Itsekiri monarch, His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III.

According to AWL, the said procession—held on Sunday, August 17, 2025—featured provocative songs directed at the Warri Urhobos, as widely circulated on social media platforms.

In a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Augustine Efeisi and made available to newsmen in Warri on Monday, August 18, 2025, the association recalled that past coronation anniversary celebrations of Itsekiri monarchs within Urhobo communities of Warri were identified by judicial panels of inquiry as one of the underlying causes of the infamous Warri ethnic crisis. Consequently, such processions had been prohibited in Urhobo areas to prevent a recurrence of ethnic crisis.

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The Agbarha Warri League further alleged that the latest procession appeared calculated to provoke fresh hostilities and undermine the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) delineation of electoral units and wards, as well as disrupt the forthcoming INEC voter registration exercise within the Warri Federal Constituency, particularly in Warri South Local Government Area.

AWL therefore urged the Delta State Government, the Federal Government, security agencies, and other relevant authorities, as well as well-meaning individuals, to prevail on the Itsekiris to desist from such actions, in order to avoid another ethnic crisis in Warri South.