Monarchs, retired security officers, clerics, and activists in the Niger Delta have called on the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to direct the Army to withdraw its siege to the embattled Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State to avert losses of more lives and douse tension in the oil region.
Additionally, they requested that the criminals who killed 17 military soldiers and stole their weapons at Okuama on March 14 figure out a way to give the weapons and ammo back to the proper authorities.
The stakeholders proposed that the Federal Government establish an impartial commission of inquiry to determine what actually transpired at Okuama and how to prevent a repeat. They noted that the Army had no business travelling to Okuama for peace discussions over a communal conflict between two villages.
The leaders recommended that the government remove its soldiers from neighbouring towns located in the states of Delta and Bayelsa.
Those who spoke include the traditional ruler of Kabowei Kingdom in Delta State, HRM (Barr) Shadrach Peremobowei Erebulu, Aduo III; Wing Commander Patrick Biakpara, retd; Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Bomadi, Most Rev. Hyacinth Oroko Egbebo, and environmentalist, Comrade Alagoa Morris.
Others are the Co-convener, of Embasara Foundation, an Ijaw Think-Tank for Good Governance; Iniruo Wills; ex-Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, president, Eric Omare; and the governorship candidate of Labour Party in the last elections in Bayelsa State, Engr. Udengs Eradiri.
The Nigerian Army had since March 15, a day after the lawbreakers killed a lieutenant colonel, two majors, and others at Okuama, laid siege to the community and other neighbouring communities in search of the killers.
Villagers, including women and children, had since fled Okuama and are stranded in the forests for over a week without food, as neighbouring communities, afraid of persecution by prowling soldiers, denied them shelter.
Retired Air Force officer, Wing Commander P.Y. Biakpara, said: “I am a military man and there are rules of engagement. Things start from the police and it is only when the situation goes beyond the police that the army is rarely called upon. If there is any small issue, one person will run to the army checkpoint and soldiers will go there, nonsense! That means our army has nothing to do!
“I am not happy about what happened at Okuama and I sympathize with the families of the lost heroes, as well as innocent civilian lives lost in this issue. I’m not happy about the whole thing.
“The government should be well advised that they should not use the military in this wrong way, they are using the military very, very carelessly. The military is not made to make peace, and even if they make peace, they will kill people to make that peace.
“They do not negotiate to make peace. To negotiate, they call in other people, so the military is misused, and we are paying the price for misusing the military.
“Of the military that I know, losing a weapon is the worst thing and they will go after those who took their weapons till they reach the end of the earth.
“So, my advice to the perpetrators is the more you keep their weapons, the more there will be problems and the weapons should be returned, even if it means returning them in such a way that they are not properly identified, let them return the weapons.”
The Pere (traditional ruler) of Kabowei Kingdom in Patani Local Government Area, Delta State, HRM (Barr) Shadrach Peremobowei Erebulu, Aduo III, said: “It is a sad incident that we never envisaged in our dear state that has been peaceful.
“My advice first goes to the youths involved in this incident, and I plead with them to return the military weapons to the appropriate authorities because their actions have caused innocent persons to lose their lives and habitation.
“When things like this happen, most times it is not even the perpetrators that feel the impact, it is innocent people in the community that become victims.
“So, I would call on the youths that have carted away the military items to submit them to the appropriate authorities.
“To the military, I urge them to employ their tactics in investigating and fishing out these persons. I know the military has a way they go about things, their intelligence. In doing that, let them be wary of attacking or hurting innocent persons because at times like this, you may not know the perpetrators.
“If innocent persons are affected, it turns the whole ball around, so they should not cause more problems in the communities.
“To the Federal Government, almost all parastatals and agencies have spoken on this issue that they would do their best to fish out the perpetrators. My advice to government is to walk the talk, and bring the needed peace in the area.
“The Federal Government should pay attention and set up a commission of inquiry to inquire into the happenings and causes of this ugly incident in Okuama community to bring justice to the people. At this stage, when we talk about justice, it is justice to the government, military; and people, which can only be achieved after proper investigation through the commissions of inquiry.’’
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Bomadi, Most Rev. Hyacinth Oroko Egbebo, said: “This unfortunate incident has come about as a result of several years of our people having to grapple with the painful issues of being abandoned by the government in all spheres of life.
“Although the main problem of these two communities, that is, Okuama and Okoloba, has to do with the festering issue of land grabbing by settlers, it is more because of lack of development of this region. There are no roads, electricity, health facilities, and proper schools here.
“The presence of a lively social life and modern amenities as found in other parts of Nigeria, would have profitably distracted our youths from engaging the military in war-like activities. They would have been more preoccupied with relevant issues that relate to living life in a more civil manner like their counterparts in other parts of Nigeria, rather than this unfortunate and primitive way of life.
“Therefore, the way forward entails a careful study of the situation by unbiased minds and persons; and for the government to proactively develop this place. There is a lot of protest against oppression by the government on the grounds of lack of development of this place, despite the huge contribution to the economy from here and the lack of justice regarding the frustrating land grabbing scenario here.”
Why soldiers should quit – Morris, environmentalist
Environmentalist, Comrade Alagoa Morris, told Vanguard in Bayelsa State: “As a concerned citizen and stakeholder in our collective interest, I will say the military should pull out of all the communities currently occupied both in Delta and Bayelsa states to ease tension and allow law-abiding Nigerians in those communities go about their means of livelihood.
“The federal and state governments should work together to get back the military guns taken by the killers and arrest the culprits by deploying intelligence gathering mechanisms. The dead soldiers and community folks sadly are gone forever. This is the reality.
‘’We should not commit a collective crime by allowing the military to kill more persons, especially law-abiding citizens, via bullet or starvation. Already, there are stories that those who ran into the bushes or still in the communities on restricted conditions are facing starvation.
‘’Rather than the military, the Civil Defence and Police (with intelligence from the Department of State Services, DSS) should be in the communities temporarily until investigations are concluded.
“The situation also requires speedy investigation and information gathering. Getting to the root of the matter is also very important, especially the actual reasons for the military’s visit to Okuama, and also identifying culprits (the killers of civilians and soldiers at Okuama) and bringing them to book to serve as a deterrent.
The state and federal governments should take steps on the above quickly and ensure law-abiding Nigerians of those communities are not made scapegoats. Punishing the innocent for crimes committed by another is injustice.”
Similarly, Co-convener, Embasara Foundation, an Ijaw Think-Tank for Good Governance, Iniruo Wills, said: “First, our hearts are with all grieving families. The big question is whether Nigeria even cares to avoid multiplying the number of grieving families.