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The Bayelsa State Government has warned that henceforth it will deal decisively with people parading themselves as kings when they are not.

The state Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the warning on Friday, September 16, at a meeting with the paramount rulers, and other critical stakeholders of Akenfa and Yenegwe communities in Government House, Yenagoa.

The two communities are embroiled in a face-off over land ownership claims.

According to a statement by Mr Doubara Atasi, the Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor on Media, Senator Ewhrudjakpo warned community leaders who are in the habit of parading themselves as kings without government certification and recognition to desist forthwith or face the full wrath of the law.

He said for anyone to claim to be king, such a person must be recognized by government and duly certificated, adding that henceforth the relevant laws will be invoked to deal with such impostors.

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His words: “Our Chieftaincy Law must have teeth to bite. It cannot continue to bark because laws are not meant to be in the shelf otherwise they become paper tigers.

“The law is not to aid crime but to protect law-abiding people. Nobody can just wake up and declare a kingdom or community for himself. We won’t tolerate that.

“We are not in a Banana Republic, nor are we in a state of chaos and anarchy that people will just wake up and do things the way they like. Henceforth, anybody that tries that will be punished according to the law.

On the issue of the disputed land, Senator Ewhrudjakpo ordered the chiefs and people of Akenfa and Yenegwe communities in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State to refrain from actions and utterances that would escalate the face-off between the two communities.

According to him, the order is to forestall escalation of the conflict, especially as the land in question is the subject of a suit filed by Agudama-Epie Community at the Court of Appeal, claiming ownership of the disputed area.

He insisted that all the three communities laying claims to the disputed land must desist from taking any action until the full determination of the subsisting appeal at the appellate court.

The deputy governor said the position of government is that, since an appeal has already been entered, the Yenegwe, Akenfa and Agudama-Epie communities should stay away from the area, adding that for now, none of them owns the land.

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