We condemn in strongest terms, the horror visited on 16 Nigerian soldiers in Okuama, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State by yet to be identified gunmen. It is criminal for citizens to be mowed down so brazenly. On March 14, 2024, troops of the 181 Amphibious Battalion, Bomadi were despatched to Okuama in what was reported as a peace initiative following lingering dispute with neighbouring Okoloba, in the Bomadi Local Government Area of the state. Events took a different turn when bodies of four officers and 12 men started floating on the river bank.
Among the dead were Lt. Col Abdullahi Alli, two majors, a captain and other ranks. Some of the mutilated bodies came without heads. It is quite unfortunate that the Niger Delta Region, which had embraced Presidential Amnesty and remained manageable in terms of security for a while, has gone back to the gory years of yore. As the custodian of the nation’s wealth, there is every reason to worry.
The Federal Government has been unable to contain insurgency in the North-East as it grapples with banditry in the North-East. The North-Central is troubled by herdsmen and there are agitations in the South-East. It is work round the clock for the Nigeria Army. Defence Headquarters has not come out with a statement on the aftermath of the Okuama killings which saw the entire community allegedly being destroyed by troops. Nigeria is not a jungle where the rule of law has no effect.
If the reaction to the death of soldiers is to destroy the area of crime, that, in itself, is condemnable. In 1999, Odi, a town in Bayelsa State was razed to the ground on the orders of President Olusegun Obasanjo after some police officers were abducted and ransom paid for their release. Soldiers who went in search of the abductees were attacked and killed.
When 19 soldiers were murdered two years later, in Zaki Biam in Kaduna State, the same method of cleansing which one soldier described as, ‘Operation No Living Thing’, was applied. Ironically, Gen. Victor Malu, the Chief of Army Staff when Odi was destroyed, suffered dehumanization in Zaki Biam. Burning down Odi was a wrong move. The criminals who murdered the policemen and soldiers were detested by members of the community but the same people who could have helped the invading army with vital information were brutalised, their homes and means of livelihood destroyed.
It is unthinkable that a whole community would sit down and map out a plan to kill officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Even among the disciples in the Bible, there was Judas, who reasoned differently from the others. It is wrong for an entire community to be punished for the crime of a few. The proper thing should have been to fish out the criminals and deal with them according to the law. Government must mount a search for those who killed the soldiers in Okuama and reprimand those who burnt the town after the killings.
We urge President Bola Tinubu to set up a judicial panel on the Okuama killings. There have been many versions flying in the air, advancing different reasons for incessant skirmishes between Okuama and Okoloba, two unfriendly neighbours. Okuama is an Urhobo town. Okoloba belongs to Izon. There have been communal clashes dating back to several decades. The bone of contention, on paper, is right to fishing in the different pots around both towns. The desire to gain advantage has led to mayhem. Another version is oil politics.
At a time when government officials and politicians are stealing our commonwealth, youths of these oil producing communities are not shying away from activities playing out in the industry. The big oil thieves may not be absolved from the crisis. Ordinarily, the Army should not be involved in communal crises. There are indications that the military went to mediate peace.
It should be the duty of the police. We understand that the police are overwhelmed, at the same time, the Army must not be overstretched. The Nigeria Army must begin to rely on technology. Advanced Intelligence would have known the mood of Okuama in their ties with Okoloba. That an Izon man was kidnapped by Urhobo youths and kept in that volatile environment was enough of a danger signal. We know that the Army deploys drones in the North-West.
The same gadget should be useful in the Niger Delta. Modern security is no more about gunboats and rifles. Technology is positioned to make inroads where bullets and brawn are not enough. More should be done about inter service co-operation. The riverine communities are accessible to the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Air Force and Army. Air Surveillance was likely going to determine what approach was best suitable.
There are seals trained by the Navy, they could have been useful against any ambush. A judicial panel will look beyond the facade. There must be people behind the crisis. Politicians have a way of creating security problems. Criminals are costumed as militants, used during elections to snatch ballot papers and brought into government as stand – by Army. Widows and orphans emerge regularly in Nigeria, innocent lives are wasted and we hear the same condolence messages. Tinubu must dig deeper, to change the narrative.
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