AFFRONT to constituted authority, wanton bloodshed and violence are never too far off from the oil-rich but troubled Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Specifically, tensions are boiling over in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State and beyond with reports that irate youths in the Okuama community killed 16 soldiers on a peace mission in a deadly ambush on March 14. This is a heavy toll. It is highly condemnable and should not be taken lightly. But rather than mass reprisals of the past by the military against such communities, the best way is to allow the civil authorities to take over the case and bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book.
With Nigerians reeling from the gale of kidnappings in the North-West, the incident in the riverine communities of Ughelli and Bomadi LGAs of Delta sent the citizens into overdrive. The genesis was traced to a communal clash over land between Okuama and Okolobo communities, which started last January.
The Okuama people have reportedly lost three natives in the process. In retaliation, they allegedly kidnapped a rival from Okolobo on Thursday. This prompted troops to go on a peace mission to Okuama to rescue him. It was a deadly mission.
The Okuama youths waylaid the team and brutally murdered the Commanding Officer, two majors, a captain and 12 soldiers. There were reports of gun duels between the youths and the troops. Media reports stated that the corpses were mutilated, some with their legs cut off and bowels ripped open. This is barbaric.
Rightly, President Bola Tinubu described these killings as “unprovoked.” His order to fish out the attackers is well placed but the President should add that there should be no extrajudicial acts by the military.
Similarly, other commentators have condemned the lethal attack on the military personnel. Already, there are reports that the military has surrounded the communities. The citizens, fearing reprisals by the military, have been fleeing to neighbouring communities. Viral images of armoured vehicles and burning houses suggest that the military has gone into action.
There is a strong sense of déjà vu in the Okuama incident. For long, the Niger Delta has been restive as citizens there believe the Nigerian state has been plundering their natural resources (oil and gas) and has failed to treat them fairly.
Consequently, they launched a war of attrition against the oil interests and the state. In November 1999, a gang in the Odi community in Bayelsa State murdered 12 police officers and soldiers over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental degradation. The response by the military was brutal. Troops devastated Odi, and reportedly killed about 900 civilians and levelled the town.
Although unrelated, the military also invaded communities in Zaki-Biam LGA of Benue State in October 2021, after the natives abducted and murdered 19 soldiers. The troops were deployed to secure Zaki-Biam and the neighbouring Logo LGA communities following an outbreak of communal clashes between the Tiv and Jukun in Benue and Taraba states. Human Rights Watch said the soldiers brazenly shot dead between 100 and 200 men and razed properties in the area.
The Okuama killings expose the brutal reality that too many weapons are in the wrong hands in the country. To deescalate criminality, Tinubu should make disarming and denying of weapons to non-state actors a cardinal project of his administration.
In addition, the military and police must be painstaking in investigating the killings. They should spare the country from another round of massacre by bringing only the culprits to justice.
Taking a bird’s eye view, the Federal Government should begin to ameliorate the harsh conditions in the Niger Delta communities with the implementation of sound policies, building of social infrastructure and environmental reclamation.
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