Who Owns the Land Beneath PPL 220? Okpe, Abigborodo Trade Claims

By Endurance Ikanone

A long standing land dispute in Delta State has resurfaced following the public display of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a proposed oil development within Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) 220, pitting leaders of the Sapele Okpe Community against the Abigborodo Community over ownership and the naming of the proposed oil field.

At the centre of the controversy is the designation “Abigborodo Oil Field,” a name strongly rejected by Okpe leaders, who argue that the land on which the field is located lies within Sapele Okpe territory and forms part of the historic Okpe Urhobo Forest Reserve.

The dispute escalated after the Alema of Warri Kingdom, Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, formally asked the Federal Ministry of Environment to disregard protests by the Udogun Okpe, the highest decision making council of the Okpe Kingdom, over the EIA process being conducted by Navante Exploration and Production Limited.

Leaders of the Sapele Okpe Community, including Chiefs Onoriode Temiagin, Austin Arieja, Lt. Col. Babuba Moses Abeke (rtd.), Godwin Atose and Patrick Akomovba, insist that claims linking the oil field to Abigborodo are not only recent but contradict archival records, judicial findings and official government instruments. They maintain that the matter was settled decades ago, pointing specifically to a 2020 White Paper issued by the Delta State Government following a judicial panel of enquiry, which they say clearly identified the disputed area as Okpe land within Sapele Local Government Area.

According to the Okpe leaders, the communities of Ugberikoko and Otonyatsere frequently cited in the dispute have never been part of Abigborodo nor administered by the Olu of Itsekiri. They argue that colonial era records show that when plans were made in 1932 to establish a forest reserve, the Olu of Itsekiri submitted claims asserting ownership over the land, but those claims were investigated, rejected and formally dismissed.

Despite the objections, the reserve was constituted and named the Okpe/Urhobo Forest Reserve, with administration reportedly handed to a native authority composed entirely of Okpe indigenes, many of whose descendants still reside in the area.

The Okpe leadership also disputes assertions that Okpe authorities told colonial administrators they had no land in the area. They question how a reserve bearing the Okpe/Urhobo name could have been created if Okpe had no territorial interest there.

They further state that later petitions by Chief Alema Okonedo, a predecessor of the current Alema of Warri, seeking to establish Abigborodo claims over Ugberikoko and Otonyatsere, were investigated and dismissed, citing a 1941 correspondence from the colonial chief secretary which affirmed that all claims had been conclusively decided as far back as 1932.

In contrast, Chief Uduaghan maintains that the Abigborodo Oil Field was correctly named and located, insisting that Abigborodo Community in Warri North Local Government Area is the rightful owner of the land.

In a detailed rejoinder to the Federal Ministry of Environment, he accused the Okpe leadership of presenting “half-truths and outright falsehoods,” arguing that documentary evidence from 1931 shows that Okpe authorities disclaimed ownership of land during the creation of the forest reserve.

The Alema asserted that Abigborodo, Ugberikoko and Otonyatsere fall under his administrative authority and the overlordship of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III. He claimed that Abigborodo farmers historically occupied and cultivated the land, leading to arrests and a 1940 magistrate court case in Sapele, which he said affirmed Abigborodo ownership.

He further stated that subsequent petitions by Abigborodo leaders resulted in investigations, sketch maps and legal instruments that altered forest reserve boundaries in Abigborodo’s favour under the Forest Ordinance.

Chief Uduaghan also claimed that Chevron Nigeria Limited previously operated in the disputed area and recognised Abigborodo as the host community, adding that Delta State Government released additional land to Abigborodo in 1996 and that security reports, judicial panels and state led probes later upheld Abigborodo’s claims.

He dismissed the Okpe protest as an attempt to reopen settled matters, stressing that the EIA process was strictly environmental and not a forum for litigating land ownership.

However, Okpe leaders counter these claims, insisting that no verifiable court judgment has ever been produced affirming Abigborodo ownership of the Okpe/Urhobo Forest Reserve. They also reject assertions that land was released to Abigborodo by the Delta State Government, citing official records which, they say, show that land releases favoured Otonyatsere and the wider Sapele Okpe Community. They reference Legal Notice 11 of 1996, which expanded the Otonyatsere enclave by 200 acres, as well as later de-reservation of over 1,200 hectares for Sapele Okpe interests, none of which, they argue, allocated land to Abigborodo.

Beyond questions of ownership, the Okpe leaders have raised concerns about environmental justice, warning that misidentifying host communities in an EIA could unfairly shift environmental risks away from those who will bear the direct impact of oil exploration. They also dispute claims that Chevron ever operated within PPL 220, insisting that the company’s activities were confined to Abigborodo and did not extend into Okpe land.

The dispute has also drawn attention to a meeting reportedly held on October 23, 2025, involving Navante, Sapele Okpe leaders and Delta State commissioners for Oil and Gas and for Environment, where Navante was allegedly directed to ensure that the proposed oil field’s name accurately reflected the true landowners before proceeding further with the EIA.

As the Federal Ministry of Environment considers submissions from both sides, the controversy underscores the complexity of land ownership disputes in the Niger Delta, where historical records, colonial legacies and modern resource development continue to intersect.

While Abigborodo leaders insist the issue has been conclusively settled, Okpe leaders maintain that history, as documented in official records, tells a different story and argue that any unresolved claims should be tested through a civil action for declaration of title rather than administrative naming.

For now, the Ministry has yet to issue a public position, leaving the fate of the proposed oil field name and the deeper ownership question unresolved.