The Tobin Konibo-ye-Awanta Chieftaincy House of Bonny Kingdom has declared that it has lost confidence in the Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area, Abinye Pepple, to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Finima Community.
The House, in a statement issued on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, and signed by its Secretary, Golden Tobin, said it could no longer guarantee that the Bonny Local Government Council, under the leadership of the incumbent chairman, would ensure the security of lives and property in Finima.
The statement followed a peace meeting convened by the Bonny LGA Chairman as part of efforts to de-escalate tensions arising from the violence that erupted in Finima on Saturday, August 22, 2026.
The meeting, scheduled for 12 noon on Wednesday, which was expected to bring together representatives of the Brown and Tobin Chieftaincy Houses, Finima Opu-Ogbo, Tobin House Owu-Ogbo, security agencies and other stakeholders.
According to a Public Notice signed by the Chairman’s Chief Press Secretary, Wisdom Chapp-Jumbo, the various stakeholders were invited to the meeting.
However, the Tobin House said it would not participate, citing concerns over the manner of the invitation and what it described as the chairman’s alleged failure to act on earlier warnings about the possibility of violence.
The House alleged that it had, in a letter dated August 7, appealed to the chairman for security ahead of its scheduled Eremini/Fungu play on August 22, following what it described as threats from the Brown House to prevent the event from taking place.
It further alleged that, during a meeting with representatives of the Tobin and Brown Houses on August 10, the chairman told them he could not provide security for the ceremony.
The Tobin House also claimed that the Bonny Chiefs’ Council, in a letter dated August 17, warned the chairman about alleged threats and the possibility of disruption of the Eremini/Fungu play.
According to the House, the warnings were not adequately acted upon, which it described as a failure of leadership.
The House further alleged that its members had been subjected to what it described as “witch-hunting” and “false narratives” following the violence. It questioned what assurances it could receive regarding the safety of its members at the peace meeting when, according to the House, the local government had allegedly failed to provide adequate security for its cultural event.
Recalling the Fungu play of 2025, the Tobin House alleged that properties belonging to its members were destroyed and Owu artifacts taken away by persons it identified as members of the Gogo Lambert-led faction of the Brown House.
It accused the local government chairman of failing to address the alleged incidents, arguing that the perceived inaction contributed to the latest crisis.
The House, however, said it remained open to a peaceful resolution of the underlying disputes in Finima, while insisting that it had lost confidence in the chairman’s “capability, impartiality or neutrality” to resolve the matter.
It called on law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, to conduct a thorough investigation into the August 22 violence and bring anyone found culpable to justice.
Efforts by Kristina Reports to obtain a response from Bonny LGA Chairman, Abinye Pepple to the allegations were unsuccessful as of press time, with an enquiry sent to him yet to receive a response.
The latest development comes amid continuing tension in Finima, where the August 22 violence reportedly left several residents injured, including one person whose hand was severed in an alleged machete attack, while properties were also damaged.
Finima Community is part of Bonny Island, which hosts several strategic national economic assets, including the Nigeria LNG’s gas liquefaction plant, Seplat Energy’s Bonny River Terminal and Renaissance Africa Energy Company’s Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal, among others.
