Delta Okuama military killings: Houses razed in the deserted community

In Okuama, a town in Delta State’s Ughelli South Local Government Area, where 16 military officers and troops were murdered on Thursday, many houses are said to be on fire.

Persecondnews recalls that some youths had shot dead and killed an Army commander, two majors, a captain, and 12 soldiers who were on a peace mission to Okuoma.

The soldiers and officers were deployed from 181 Amphibious Batallion in the Delta’s Bomadi Local Government Area.

Residents of the coastal town fled to nearby Ughelli, fearing retaliation from soldiers who had begun patrolling the waterways, and as a result, the houses were set on fire.

But it is not clear who fire to the houses.

Gen. Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, had ordered the swift inquiry and apprehension of those responsible for the horrible act.

Additionally, videos and pictures from the incident are trending on a number of social media sites.

Chief James Ibori, a former governor of Delta State, had tweeted about the fire.

Maj.-Gen. Jamal Abdussalam, the General Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army’s 6th Division, had reported the arrest of a few individuals in connection with the recent military killings.

Persecondnews recalls that on November 4, 1999, 12 police officers were killed by a gang in Odi, Bayelsa State in the then President Olusegun Obasanjo administration resulting in the invasion of Odi by security forces.

All of the town’s structures were destroyed with the exception of a bank, the Anglican church, and the health centre.

A comparable tragedy occurred in Zaki Biam, Benue State, two years later.

On October 10, 2001, a group thought to be militias ambushed and abducted 19 soldiers in the hamlet of Vaase.

The soldiers’ bodies were found two days later in the adjacent town of Zaki-Biam, next to a primary school.

Locals claim that earlier murders in which armed men dressed in military uniforms raided multiple Tiv villages served as the impetus for the killings.

The Tiv had a strong suspicion that some of the armed forces were supporting their Jukun opponents, with whom they have been at constant odds for territory.

Additionally, soldiers launched retaliation attacks throughout the neighbourhood.

Human rights attorney, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), although expressing sympathy to the military authorities for the death, stated that the army have to target only those who were directly engaged in the assassinations.

Falana, who applauded the military for apprehending some of the attack’s ringleaders, stated that the military must prevent a recurrence of the slaughter of defenceless civilians in Odi and Zaki Biam as retaliation.

“We applaud the military authorities for restraining themselves from launching a retaliatory strike against the two warring communities of Odi in Bayelsa State and Zaki Biam in Benue State, given the slaughter of innocent people that occurred during both invasions under identical circumstances.

“The army should, by all means, steer clear of a repeat of its past tragedies. We can announce that some of the gunmen involved in the horrific crime have been taken into custody on the orders of General Gwabim Musa, the Chief of Staff of the Defence.”