Document #1111708
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Specific references to the Agbara ethnic group could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, references to the Agbarha clan of the Urhobo ethnic group and the Agbarha Kingdom in Warri, Delta State, were found among the sources consulted (The Guardian 28 May 2001; This Day 17 Mar. 2002; The News 3 May 1999; Vanguard 27 Sept. 2000). According to the Urhobo National Association (UNA) of North America, the Urhobo people are found in Delta State, Nigeria, and occupy the southern region of the Benin lowland of the Niger Delta (n.d.). The UNA provides the following additional information about the Urhobo:
In traditional African political organization, the Urhobo nation consists of twenty-two autonomous republics or "clans" with a common ancestral origin. The clans are: Agbarha, Agbarha-Ame (Agbassa), Agbarho, Agbon, Arhavwarien, Avwraka, Eghwu, Ephron-oto, Evwreni, Idjerhe, Oghara, Ogor, Okere, Okparabe, Okpe, Olomu, Orogun, Udu, Ughelli, Ughievwen, Ughwerun, and Uvwi. The earliest political system in most of Urhoboland is a mixture of the kingship system and the rule by elders. Depending on the clan and the system of administration, the king or clan head is called the Ovie or Orodje or Osuivie, Okobaro, Okpako or Okpara-Uku and such title may be hereditary in some clans (n.d.).
Regarding the Agbasa (also referred to as the Agbasa Juju) festival, two sources list the festival, along with the Itsekiri Juju and the Okere Juju festivals, as a tourist attraction in Delta state (Motherland Nigeria n.d.; ICSN n.d.). Another source, which also names the Agbasa festival as a tourist attraction in Delta state, indicates that the festival is celebrated by the Urhobo (NigeriaExchange n.d.).
Additional information regarding the Agbasa or Agbasa Juju festival could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
The Guardian [Lagos]. 28 May
2001. "Nigeria: Army Deploys Troops to Separate Warring
Communities." (BBC Worldwide Monitoring 28 May 2001/NEXIS)
Igbo Cultural and Support Network
(ICSN). n.d. "Nigerian States: Delta." http://www.igbocsn.com/culture/delta.html
[Accessed 3 Dec. 2002]
Motherland Nigeria. n.d. "Tourist
Attractions." http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/tourist.html
[Accessed 29 Nov. 2002]
The News [Lagos]. 3 May 1999.
Okafor Ofiebor. "Nigeria: Looming Trouble." (Africa News/NEXIS)
NigeriaExchange. n.d. "Nigeria: Delta
State." http://www.ngex.com/nigeria/places/states/delta.htm
[Accessed 29 Nov. 2002]
This Day. 17 March 2002. Remi
Adefulu. "Warri Crisis: Okumagba Vows to Fight On." http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2002/03/05/20020305pol01.html
[Accessed 5 Dec. 2002]
The Urhobo National Association - North
America (UNA). n.d. "The Urhobo People." http://www.urhobo.org/about_urhoboland.htm
[Accessed 5 Dec. 2002]
Vanguard [Lagos]. 27 September
2000. Benjamin O. Okumagba. "Nigeria: Our Stand on Derivation
Fund-Urhobos." (Africa News/NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Ethnic Groups Worldwide
IRB Databases
NEXIS
One oral source was unable to provide
information on the above-mentioned topic
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the
Urhobo Historical Society, of the Igbo Cultural and Support
Network
World Directory of Minorities
Internet sites, including:
Adherents.com
Africa Online
Africa World
AllAfrica.com
Almanche de Bruxelles
Anthropological Index Online
Apologetics Index
BBC Africa
Daily Times Online
Delta State
Ethnologue: Languages of the World
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Igbo Cultural and Support Network
(ICSN)
Indigenous Knowledge Network
New Nigerian
Newswatch Nigeria
Nigeria Daily
Urhobo Kinsfolk Website
Vanguard
World News Connection (WNC)
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