By Olukayode Ajulo
Today, I make this position public not only as the Attorney General of Ondo State, but as an harbinger of truth, and a fierce defender of truth in these turbulent times.
I present to you a case that is classical in its foundation, sound in its reasoning, profound in its depth, and utterly unassailable in its conclusion:
Eba Island in Nigeria belongs unequivocally, historically, geographically, and legally to Ondo State – specifically to the ancient kingdom of Atijere in Ilaje Local Government Area.
The sudden and latest controversy involving Eba Island, personally to me is a profound matter of concerns which surprises me; nay, it astonishes me to the marrow of my bones!
For I speak to you as one who served Ondo State during era of Dr Olusegun Rahman Mimiko as Governor with distinction in an earlier capacity as Chairman of the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC). In that exalted role, I knew, as a matter of irrefutable, eyewitness fact, that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (now NNPCL) and other federal agencies of repute visited Eba Island on multiple occasions, recognizing it without equivocation as Ondo territory.
Then our government functionaries hosted them with pomp and circumstance, personally escorting these august visitors across the creeks, mangroves, and shimmering waters to conduct thorough inspections and due diligence.
The records were clear; the maps were unambiguous; I now therefore wonder, what sorcery, what sudden alchemy of interest, has produced this dramatic volte-face? What has changed since those official visits? Why does Ogun State now lay audacious claim to this oil-rich gem that yesterday was accepted as ours?
It is precisely upon these glaring inconsistencies, and upon a burning thirst for unvarnished truth, that I embarked, upon a self-driven solo voyage of discovery to the United Kingdom, the very cradle of our colonial archives.
There, in the hallowed halls of the British Library, the National Archives at Kew, and the venerable museums housing the yellowed ledgers and faded maps of old British empire as well as that of Nigeria, I pored over original documents with forensic precision.
Among the treasures I examined were:
- Colonial administrative maps and boundary delineations from the Lagos Colony era (pre-1914 amalgamation), showing Eba Island and Atijere as integral parts of the Ilaje/Mahin Country under Governor Sir John Hawley Glover’s administration.
- Intelligence reports and provincial sketches of the Ondo Province (post-amalgamation), particularly those covering the Okitipupa Division, where Ilaje District, including Atijere and Eba Island, was clearly marked under Native Authority control.
- Treaty-related drawings and sketch maps from the 1885 protection treaty signed by the Amapetu of Mahin, incorporating the Mahin kingdom (encompassing Atijere corridors and Eba Island) into the Lagos Protectorate.
- Gazette notices and boundary adjustment graphs, including early 20th-century demarcations that placed the natural boundary at River Ufara, separating Ilaje/Mahin lands from Ijebu territories.
- Forestry reserve plans and cadastral surveys from the 1930s onward, designating Eba Island within the Atijere Native Authority Forestry Reserve.
- Hand-drawn intelligence maps and ethnographic boundary illustrations from the Colonial Office series (such as those in CO records), confirming continuous Ilaje administration without overlap into what became Ogun areas.
What I unearthed are facts as solid as the rock of Gibraltar: these colonial records—treaties, maps, drawings, graphs, and intelligence sources—brook no contradiction. Eba Island has belonged to the Ilaje/Mahin people of Ondo from time immemorial. I challenge, nay, I dare anyone, from any quarter, to step forward and controvert these unassailable findings in open debate!
Let us now examine the historical tapestry, woven thread by golden thread.
Long before the 1914 amalgamation that birthed modern Nigeria, Eba Island formed an integral part of the Ilaje/Mahin Country within the defunct Lagos Colony. In 1885, the paramount ruler, the Amapetu of Mahin, signed a solemn treaty with colonial authorities, bringing the entire Mahin kingdom, including the island and land called Atijere, under the protective aegis of Lagos Colony.
Following amalgamation, it seamlessly became part of the Ondo Province, precisely the Okitipupa Division, and was proudly designated a Forestry Reserve under the Atijere Native Authority. By 1933, Atijere had risen as the undisputed administrative headquarters; it hosted the Native Court, where the Amapetu appointed vassal chiefs of pure Ilaje descent. The settlement of Atijere has stood since at least 1937, with Eba Island falling squarely under its Native Court Authority.
Around 1950, Eba was formally incorporated into the Ilaje District Council, with Atijere as its proud headquarters. Through every local government reform – the creation of Ilaje/Ese-Odo in 1975 and the carving out of Ese-Odo in 1997, Eba Island remained, and still remains, an indivisible part of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. It is still proudly gazetted as Ondo State Forestry Reserve.
The indigenes, fishermen, farmers, traders of Ilaje blood – have lived, worshipped, and paid allegiance there for generations, never once to Ogun authorities. River Ufara, that natural and eternal boundary, flows as a clear demarcation between Ilaje land and Ijebu territory. Verily, the facts speak for themselves – res ipsa loquitur!
Legally, the position is iron-clad and beyond peradventure.
Under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Section 44(3) and Item 39 of the Exclusive Legislative List vest mineral resources in the Federal Government.
Yet derivation benefits and host-community rights under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 – particularly Sections 104 and following – are determined strictly by the territorial location of the resource and the identity of the host communities. Ownership is not won by press releases, media sensationalism, or opportunistic assertions; it is established by historical title, continuous administration, and customary law. No gazette, no court ruling, no boundary adjustment has ever transferred Eba Island to Ogun.
The National Boundary Commission stands ready to adjudicate if truly needed, but until then, Ondo’s longstanding jurisdiction is sacrosanct.
Geographically and factually, the evidence is overwhelming.
Eba Island lies in the Atijere axis of Ilaje LGA on our shores, administered by our councils, protected in our forest reserves, and inhabited by our people. The oil deposit sits on land whose owners are Atijere indigenes who have never paid royalties or homage elsewhere. Claims to the contrary are built on sand, misleading narratives, confusion between “Eba” and “Eba Island,” and a sudden hunger to join the league of oil-producing states.
But truth cannot be rewritten for petrodollars. To attempt it is not only unjust; it is an affront to the federal principle that binds our dear nation.
Distinguished audience, the time for equivocation is over.
Ogun’s assertions risk inflaming communal tensions and eroding the peace we have long cherished along our shared coastline. Ondo State will defend its territorial integrity with every lawful weapon at our disposal – in the courts, before the Boundary Commission, and in the court of public opinion. We call for calm, for dialogue, and for constitutional resolution. But let there be no illusion, no shadow of doubt: Eba Island is Ondo State’s, yesterday, today, and forever!
The oil beneath its soil is a divine endowment for the people of Ilaje and the entire Sunshine State. We shall ensure it translates into development, prosperity, and lasting legacy for our children yet unborn.
*Dr Ajulo, OON, SAN, is Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ondo State.
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