Bayelsa’s Samabri/Biseni oil communities have sounded an alarm over a recent claim by the neighboring Asamabiri Community, asserting itself as a co-host to the Samabri/Biseni Cluster Location. Osekwuenike, Osifo, and Abuetor communities, all within Sagbama Local Government Area, voiced their frustration in a statement, describing the co-host assertion as baseless and a potential risk to inter-communal peace.

In a joint declaration on Saturday, leaders from the three affected communities — including Presidents General Mr. Anthony Okorie of Osekwuenike, Comrade Benjamin Aghoghovia of Osifo, and Comrade Bartholomew Uti of Abuetor — expressed disappointment over Asamabiri’s claims. According to them, Asamabiri’s stance ignores the established natural boundary at the Ogborogbo Canal, which has traditionally marked each community’s territory.

The conflict intensified on October 2, 2024, when Asamabiri residents mobilized a protest on land controlled by the Samabri/Biseni Cluster’s host communities, where a major oil firm operates. Claiming years of neglect and citing their “co-host” status, Asamabiri protesters argued that 22 years of unaddressed grievances justified their action. However, leaders of the Samabri/Biseni communities condemned the protest as an unlawful encroachment that could provoke inter-communal tensions.

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The three communities urged the Bayelsa State Government, corporate stakeholders, and the public to disregard Asamabiri’s claims. They emphasized the need to uphold the historical rights of the Samabri/Biseni Cluster as the legitimate hosts, highlighting that these boundary distinctions had always been respected until now.

In a related protest, Asamabiri leaders contended that the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), which operates in the area, has consistently neglected their community. Chief Joseph Odoni, the paramount ruler of Asamabiri, led a demonstration, arguing that Asamabiri had been excluded from vital benefits and social amenities despite their proximity to the oil firm. The community’s leaders called upon Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, alongside influential Ijaw bodies — the Ijaw National Congress and the Ijaw Youth Council — to step in and address what they described as systemic neglect over the past two decades.

As the dispute lingers, the Samabri/Biseni communities warn that unresolved claims could destabilize the longstanding peace and cooperation that had been cultivated between neighboring Bayelsa communities for generations.