Many People from Okuama in Ughelli South and Okolaba in Bomadi of Delta State ran away as soldiers took control and reportedly set some houses on fire in response to the killing of 16 soldiers, including senior officers.
Channels Television Channels Television reported on Saturday night that soldiers from the Joint Task Force, supervised by Major General Jamal Abdussalam, recovered the bodies of 15 soldiers at the Okuama community.
Some of the recovered bodies were beheaded, while others had their stomachs torn open with some vital organs missing.
At the NDDC jetty in the community, the bodies of the commanding officer and two Majors were seen floating by the river bank while others were found on land.
Meanwhile, troops from the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, who oversee the 63 brigade in Asaba, closed off the entire communities in the Bomadi and Ughelli South local government areas.
Neighboring communities have been in a land dispute since January 27, 2024, when some youths from Okoloba ambushed and killed three Okuama youths over a long-standing land dispute as they returned from Okwagbe.
The deceased youths were allegedly hidden by the attackers.
Some Okuama youths reportedly ambushed and held an Okoloba indigene hostage on Wednesday.
The Chairman of the Okoloba community informed the Divisional Police Officer, Bomadi Police Division, the Joint Task Force, the Department of State Service, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The JTF quickly moved to Okuama to rescue the hostage.
On spotting the JTF personnel, angry Okuama youths allegedly fired at them at the waterfront, killing two soldiers and injuring others.
This led to a gunfight between the youths and the military, resulting in some soldiers sustaining severe bullet wounds.
During the chaos, some soldiers reportedly managed to escape with the two wounded soldiers, who are said to be recovering in a secret Bomadi hospital.
Effurun's 3 Battalion Commanding Officer and Agbor's 181 Amphibious Battalion Commanding Officer were unavailable for comments at the time of this report.
The Delta State Police Command stated they were not aware of the incident when contacted.
However, the Nigerian Army confirmed the deaths of its officers and men, noting they were on a peace mission in the Okuama community.
In a statement by Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, the acting Director of Defence Information, the Army said the commanding officer of the 181 Amphibious Battalion, two Majors, one Captain, and 12 soldiers lost their lives.
The message stated that troops from the 181 Amphibious Batallion, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, were surrounded and killed by some community youths while on a peace mission to Okuama community in the Bomadi LGA of Delta State. This happened when the troops responded to a distress call about the communal crisis between the Okuama and Okoloba communities, both in Delta State.
The backup team led by the commanding officer was also attacked, leading to the death of the commanding officer, two Majors, one Captain and 12 soldiers.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has ordered the immediate investigation and arrest of those involved in the awful crime. The incident has been reported to the Delta State Government.
Gusau added that the military remained focused and committed to its mandate of maintaining peace and security in the country, and mentioned that some arrests had been made, while steps were being taken to understand the reason behind the attack.
Community under siege
Sunday PUNCH discovered that troops had put the Okuama community under siege as soldiers were reported to have set fire to houses, resulting in the death of at least three young men.
One of our reporters found that many residents of the community suffered life-threatening injuries, with numerous women and children displaced in the chaos, and their whereabouts were unknown at the time of reporting.
When Sunday PUNCH reporter tried to visit the warring communities but was turned away by stern and heavily armed soldiers who had taken over the roads.
‘Soldiers carrying out genocide’
From his hiding place, the Vice President-General of Okuama Community, Mr David Akata, expressed dissatisfaction with the state government and security operatives for not effectively dealing with the crisis between the two communities from the beginning.
“We made a peace agreement with the state government and security operatives in the state, and we stand by that agreement, but often the Okoloba people harass and assault our people. We asked the state government to act quickly and warn the Okoloba leaders, but they ignored us. Instead, they helped the Okoloba community and used their hired fighters to attack and kill our people,” he said.
Akata also appealed to President Bola Tinubu; Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori; the National Assembly, Amnesty International and the United Nations to urgently intervene and reprimand the military personnel, whom he accused of carrying out acts of genocide against the people.
He said, “Some armed men in military uniform invaded the community in the early hours of March 14, 2024, with a gunboat.
“The gunmen arrived in the community around 8am and started shooting at anyone in sight, resulting in three deaths and several injured victims who are currently receiving treatment in a hospital in the state.
“Troops suspected to be men of the Nigerian Army on Friday, March 15, 2024, while chanting war songs, carried out what could be termed genocide on the innocent citizens of the community by setting their buildings ablaze.”
One more young person from Okuama, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Our people woke up on Wednesday to see our community surrounded by men in military clothing numbering over 60, and without any reason, they began shooting and caused the deaths of three promising young people of the community with many others getting shot.
“The same military men repeated their violent actions on innocent and law-abiding citizens of the Okuama community on Friday, March 15, 2024, destroying many buildings. As I speak, the number of people who died in the brutal attack cannot be determined as many old men, women, and young people fled into the nearby bushes and we suspect that some women and children might have drowned, because many ran into the river out of panic.”
A leader of the Okoloba, who requested anonymity due to the tense situation, accused the Okuama people of being the aggressors and called on the federal and state governments as well as security agencies to increase security in the communities to prevent the crisis from getting worse.
He also confirmed that many residents of Okolaba had fled the community for fear of retaliation from the military and the Okuama youths, and added that he was speaking from his hiding place.
When contacted for a response, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, acknowledged the seriousness of the incident. However, he chose not to comment, stating that the Presidency would issue an official statement on the incident soon.
Similarly, the Chief Press Secretary to the Delta State Governor, Mr Festus Ahon, directed our correspondent to the Commissioner for Information, Dr Ifeanyi Osuoza. However, the commissioner did not answer his calls and had yet to reply to a message sent to his mobile phone at the time of filing this report.
Senators appeal for peace
The senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Ede Dafinone, has called on those involved in the ongoing carnage to “stop fighting for the sake of humanity.”
He also called on the federal and state governments “to urgently intervene to reduce the crisis.”
The call was contained in a statement issued by Dafinone in Warri on Saturday.
Dafinone while reacting to reports of the death of the soldiers, three Okuama community youths and the alleged burning of properties in Okuama, described the incidents as “very unfortunate.”
While sympathetic to the military over the loss of its officers and men, he called on the Army to “follow the military rules of engagement when dealing with civilians.”
He also called on the leaders and the people of Okuama to remain calm and urged the government to “take quick action to prevent the bad situation from turning into another humanitarian crisis”.
The statement read in part, “I want to appeal for peace by the warring factions in the unfortunate incident that occurred in the Okuama community in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State on Thursday and Friday, leading to the unnecessary death of about 18 persons including soldiers.
The government needs to quickly set up a powerful independent group to investigate the main reasons for this crisis. They need to do this to find and punish anyone who killed Nigerian civilians and soldiers.
I ask the Nigerian Army to handle this situation carefully. They should control their emotions and follow the rules when dealing with civilians at Okuama.
I also want to urge the people in Okuama to avoid any violent actions that could make this crisis worse. Both sides should have used reason to prevent this.
The senator for Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko, criticized the loss of lives on both the military and civilian sides. He asked the military not to hurt innocent people in the communities because of this tragedy.
He told one of our correspondents on the phone on Saturday, “The military should find the people responsible after a thorough investigation. They should not punish the whole communities and harm innocent citizens. They should not invade the state or the communities. I want to especially ask them not to treat anyone like criminals, but they should be careful.
“It is a tragedy and a national one for that matter. The killings should be condemned. Killings in Nigeria are unbearable. Just two weeks ago, some policemen were abducted in the same state and five bodies were recovered. What is happening is not something we should gloss over. It is sad that killings in Katsina, Zamfara and Plateau states are now spreading to the southern part of the country.
Attempts to get the reaction of the member representing the Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency of Delta State in the House of Representatives, Nicholas Ebomo, were unsuccessful. Calls to his mobile telephone were unanswered while messages sent to him via WhatsApp were not acknowledged.
Ex-soldiers, others react
Reacting to the development, a security consultant and defence strategist, Col. Hassan Stan-Labo (retd.), said there was a need for the military to investigate the incident to ascertain what happened.
He added that although the military had become civilised compared to past years when retaliations would be carried out on the communities, the perpetrators would in no time be brought to justice.
He said, “There was a communal clash and of course the military was called upon and they were responding before the unfortunate incident that happened. The military will now have to investigate it to ascertain the actual position of things and that will show the way forward as to what line of action to take. We don’t foresee any retaliation on the part of the military. That was in the past and today we don’t do that.
“The military is more civilised today and it’s just that the youth involved definitely will pay for it. There are no two ways about it. Community leaders who took sides, engineered, and in one way or the other contributed, provoked or assisted it in any form or shape will pay for it.
Enefaa Georgewill, the Chairman of Rivers State Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, said that we should closely examine the main cause. Some people have connected the attack to IPOB while others have linked it to criminal groups. However, most of these conflicts are a result of the problems in the country. The government needs to wake up and start addressing the fundamental issues of poverty, education, economy, and food crises, among others.
The civilians need to understand that soldiers are part of our community. They are also human beings with families. We urge for calm and for the military to act in a professional manner and prevent the situation from escalating into widespread killing.
Ezonebi Oyakemeagbegha, the National Publicity Secretary of the Ijaw National Congress, expressed sadness about civilians killing military personnel. He appealed to the soldiers to act professionally. While condemning the killing of soldiers, he asked them to handle the situation in a professional manner.
Additional reports by DIRISU YAKUBU, STEPHEN ANGBULU, DANIEL AYANTOYE and AYOOLA OLASUPO
