THE Okuama community of Delta State has become desolate and abandoned. The entire community is witnessing violence, arson, deaths and the loss of houses and other properties. The cause of the scenario is an event that could be described as a scorched-earth reprisal that followed the killing of soldiers in that community. The situation is grim, inhuman and brutish. Instructively, the Defence Headquarters has come up with the names and photographs of eight wanted persons in connection with the killings, saying that they are prime suspects.
On March 14, 16 Nigeria Army personnel were killed by the youth in Okuama community of Ughelli South Local Government of Delta State. These included the commanding officer, two majors, a captain and 12 other soldiers from the 181 Amphibious Battalion that were stationed on a peace mission in the Bomadi Local Government Area of the state. The murdered troops consisted of the initial response team to a distress call following the communal crisis between the Okuama and Okoloba communities in the state and the reinforcement team led by the commanding officer. The troops had responded as part of the commitment of the military to its mandate of maintaining peace and security in that part of the country. But they were ambushed and gruesomely murdered, with some of them beheaded or mutilated. The killers also collected the arms and ammunition of the Nigerian Army found in the possession of the assassinated soldiers.
We join the government and other Nigerians to commiserate with the Nigerian Army, the families of the slain soldiers and the Federal Government. We believe that the incident was regrettable, dastardly and should not be allowed to happen again. Efforts must be made by the Delta State government and the Federal Government, community leaders and concerned Nigerians to prevent recurrence. The conflict over land between the Okuama and Okoloba communities should not have been allowed to fester for so long. It led to the killing of the soldiers. Delta State has a Committee on Peace and Conflict Resolution that had earlier brokered a peace accord between the two feuding communities. It is therefore surprising that the military got caught in the crossfire over a conflict that was already being managed. What happened to the conflict management arrangement in the various communities in the state? The deepening of the crisis could not have happened if this arrangement was alive and effective.
From reports, the feud between the communities had persisted for a long while, with the camps writing petitions to the appropriate authorities to intervene and resolve it. Given that the land dispute is delicate and volatile, a time bomb which often leads to violence, leaving all the parties sulking and in sorrow, those responsible for managing the conflict could have done better. Since the incident, there have been accusations and counter accusations regarding the various participants in the conflict and its management, their roles and the reason for their involvement. The ambush and murder of the troops were not connected to the land dispute between Okuama and Okoloba alone; they were linked to illegal oil bunkering even as the communities in dispute sought support and sympathy.
The conflict has become huge and complicated, sowing hate and worsening the image of Nigeria as a killing field. We call for peace, truce and order. The blame game should give place to deeper and sober reflection, as well as an orderly and systematic approach to addressing the issues. Investigations are needed to have clear knowledge of the ramifications of the conflict and the attendant violence. The investigation should identify the perpetrators in order to ensure justice and reconciliation. The killings in Delta State are yet another dimension to the dizzying scale of tragic killings in the country. People have been displaced from their ancestral homes, children have lost their parents, just as many have become widows and widowers over a needless carnage. It is time for an enduring peace and tranquility in the Delta communities. Everyone must join voices to say “never again!”
Needless to say, the path to really saying “never again” is for the Federal Government to walk its talk, fish out the perpetrators of this dastardly act and ensure that due comeuppance is meted to them after having gone through the crucible of Nigeria’s justice system. Therein lies the pathway to assuaging the sense of loss and the grief of the families, associates, colleagues and institutions of the fallen soldiers.
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