Urhobo Renaissance Society, USR, has called on the Federal Government to call the military to order and let Okuama people in Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State, be rebuilt and move on their lives.
It also called on the Federal Government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to unravel what actually happened in Okuama, in which 17 soldiers were killed and in turn the community razed and many killed.
The body said the Urhobo Nation would not trust, or take part, in a panel of inquiry in which the Nigerian Army is both the judge, the prosecutor, the adjudicator and the executioner.
URS Secretary, Dr. John Uwa, in a statement on Thursday, said: “The dastardly murder of 17 officers and men of the Nigerian Army on March 14, 2024, was a condemnable act which riled all people of good will and conscience.
“The peace loving Urhobo people also condemned the barbaric act in the harshest of words. So far, the military has pointed accusing fingers at the people of Okuama as the culprits since the mutilated bodies of the soldiers were found floating on the Forcados River which run by Okuama.
“We dare say that this is an allegation which has not been proven by any investigative panel.
“While the Urhobo people commiserate with the families of the slain soldiers and offer her condolences to the Federal Government for which the military serves as a symbol of power, we cannot continue to be silent in the face of the deliberate act to wipe Okuama off the face of the earth as embarked upon by the Nigerian Army.
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“The Urhobo people, after expressing their shock and condoling with the families of the murdered soldiers, the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian state, have again and again insisted on the innocence of the Okuama people of less than eight hundred living on a poor and isolated land.
“We have insisted that the kind of fire power that will eliminate that number of soldiers was lacking among the agrarian Okuama people. We have also insisted that the Urhobo people’s unalloyed loyalty to the Federal Government has made them to show an uncommon respect bordering on veneration to the military and never in the history of the Urhobo people have they hurt a soldier or taken up arms against the Nigerian state.
“What is happening at Okuama is a tragic instance of scapegoating intended to destroy an entire community by a military that abandoned the rules of engagement with citizens as enshrined in global best practices.
“The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has offered four different narratives on the Okuama incident. His first thread was that the soldiers were killed by youths of Okuama. The next line was that the military knows the killers of the soldiers and that they were closing in on them and he went on to mention one Amagbein from Igbomotoru in Bayelsa State.
“In another narrative he ascribed the killings to oil bunkering. His latest storyline is that Okuama people hired mercenaries to kill the soldiers.
“In one of his media outings, General Musa said Lt. Col. A. Ali, the slain commander alone could have leveled all of Okuama if he had been armed.
“The same General Musa forgot that he had told the world that the killers of the soldiers made away with their arms which the military is now looking for in Okuama.
“As we write, the military has leveled Okuama and authoritative media reports indicate that a church and a school are the only two buildings standing and reminding the world about a place that once was.
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“The number of Okuama lives wasted by Nigerian soldiers since March 14, incident is unspecified, but they are many.
“The military has blocked all access to Okuama and those trapped in the forest are dying of starvation. Besides Okuama, the military has also attacked nearby Urhobo communities in search of suspected innocent people.
“What became more disturbing was the declaration of eight citizens including a royal father and a professor as wanted persons. And the world wondered how legitimate is it for the military to declare citizens who are not its personnel wanted.
“Unfortunately, the Chief of Defence Staff is holding onto the presidential directive, for the military to fish out the killers, to commit genocide in Okuama, even without cognizance of its discretionary power in a civilian environment.
“What the Federal Government should do is to set up an independent commission of inquiry to unravel what actually happened. Only then can we get to the bottom of the matter and get justice.
“Therefore, let us state very clearly that the Urhobo Nation will have no trust, or take part, in a panel of inquiry in which the Nigerian Army is both the judge, the prosecutor, the adjudicator and the executioner.
“The Okuama incident should not be seen an isolated misfortune and ascribed to a land dispute between two communities.
“In the fullness of time, its real instigation by resource theft in which the military is actively involved will be revealed.
“For now, we call on the Federal Government to call the military to order and let Okuama be rebuilt. Okuama lives matter,” the statement added.
