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    Friday, November 22, 2024
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    Slain Soldiers: Media Reports Skewed To Implicate Okoloba– Community Chair *Seeks Protection from Okuama-Urhobo aggressors.

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    Chairman of Okoloba community, in Bomadi LGA, Mr Clement Koki, says the killing of 22 Nigerian Army personnel, took place in Okuama, a neighboring Urhobo enclave in Ughelli South LGA of Delta State.

    Koki said Vanguard, in March 16, 2024 edition, and other media reports linking the condemnable act to “irate Ijaw youths”, were “maliciously misleading” the authorities towards passing the blame on Okoloba, an Ijaw community, itself at receiving end of aggression of the Urhobo enclave.

    “Let it be made clear that, the crisis in which the military JTF intervened to sue for peace is not between two Ijaw Communities in Bomadi LGA as falsely reported in Vanguard news media to give the wrong impression that Ijaw youths supposedly fighting on both sides, were the ones that killed the military personnel. Okoloba is an Ijaw community in Bomadi LGA while Okuama is a neighboring Urhobo community in Ughelli South LGA of Delta State”, Koki clarified, in a statement, adding: “The gun duel took place in Okuama Community in Ughelli South LGA, Delta State, between the soldiers and Okuama Community youths resulting in the killing of the army personnel”.

    He demanded retraction and apology from the other media houses with similar reports while asking them “to stay on the path of truth” just as he tasked the Federal and State governments to protect his community.

    The reaction of Okoloba, an Ijaw community is coming on heels of the position of the Nigerian Army whose Spokesman reportedly said Okuama community is “complicit in the killing of the military” who were on a peace mission to Okuama.

    Holding sponsors of the killer Okuama militia in media propaganda, the chairman listed alleged atrocities Okoloba had suffered from Okuama Urhobo people to include a January 27, 2024 mass attack on Okoloba and a subsequent kidnap and killing of an Okoloba youth named Pigha Zipamone, whose corpse the Okoloba community handed over to the Nigeria Police Force Station at Bomadi, headquarters of Bomadi LGA, Delta State. Also handed over to t pophe police was a cache of arms and ammunition which Okuama abandoned in an escape move as Okoloba resisted their mass attack. The Army had intervened to plead for peace as a more recent kidnap in March 2024 added to the string of defiances to the peace accord brokered by the Delta State Government, when the military were rounded up and killed by the Okuama militia.

    Koki said both the King of Ewu Kingdom, HRM Clement Ikolo and the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborovweri, were clear in public statements that the killings happened in Okuama, an Urhobo community in Ewu Kingdom in Ughelli South LGA.

    “The JTF in Bomadi knows the difference between Okoloba, an Ijaw community in Bomadi LGA of Delta State and the neighboring Urhobo- Okuama community in Ughelli South LGA of Delta State. It is therefore unfortunate that Vanguard newspaper, a supposedly respected media outfit, resorted to obvious and deliberate misrepresentation and falsehood in its reportage of this dastardly and evil act against the personnel of the Nigeria Army”.

    Condoling with the Nigerian military for death of its gallant officers, Koki however noted that Okuama community had threatened and boasted stockpile of weapons to annihilate Okoloba community and therefore appealed to Government at all levels to avoid security gap in the area “to save our souls”.

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    Delta Land Dispute; Group Dares Okpamam Indigenes To Appear At Force CID Area 10, Abuja. A group, South-South Professional & Transparency Initiatives (SSPTI), has challenged indigenes of Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government area to visit Nigeria Police Force CID, Area 10 Abuja, to submit relevant documents relating to its ownership claim of the disputed land with Issele-Azagba people in Aniocha North Council area of Delta state. The group who expressed concern that the Okpanam Indigenes who had been the aggressors since the land dispute started about 3years ago have not deem it fit to visit the Force CID Area 10 Abuja to tender necessary documents to prove its ownership claim since the matter was transferred to Abuja, described their failure to do so as irresponsible and an act of cowardice. It would be recalled that following an alleged bias of some senior police officers at the Delta state Police Command, Asaba, in handling the matter, some displeased stakeholders in the case had to petition the Force Headquarters and the matter was subsequently transferred to the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun’s office. It was gathered that based on the violence and killings recorded over the disputed land, including the two policemen murdered 3years ago and three youths killed early this year, IGP Egbetokun, personally directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG CID), Sylvester Abiodun Alabi, to investigate the matter and bring to justice those responsible for the killings of his men and the youths. Reacting to the deliberate efforts by the Okpanam indigenes to frustrate the process of investigations by falling to appear before DIG Alabi at the Force CID Area 10 Abuja, SSPTI in a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Ugochukwu Alozie, yesterday, noted that its obvious that the Okpanam indigenes do not have any document to prove their ownership case on the disputed land. According to the statement; “As a follow up to our earlier statement where we made it loud and clear that the Okpanam indigenes who had been the aggressor to the Issele-Azagba people of Aniocha North, over the land in question, do not have any document to prove their ownership, we have also discovered efforts by the same people to frustrate the ongoing investigations by not showing up at the Force CID, Area 10 Abuja. “We have carried out our independent investigations at the Police Headquarters, and find out that none of the key actors in Okpanam community laying claim to the disputed land have turned up at the place to present documents to back their claim so as to enable the investigating team led by DIG Alabi to carry out the mandate handed over to it by IGP Egbetokun”. “While we find it difficult to understand why none Okpanam indigenes had appeared before the investigating panel in Abuja, we are also concerned how a kingdom that is laying claim to a disputed land cannot present documents to prove its ownership case beyond all reasonable doubts”. “We are therefore using this medium to call on the Okpanam community indigenes to be bold enough and come before the investigating panel and tender the documents relating to their ownership claim of the disputed land area so as to enable the team conclude of the assignment handed to it by the IGP Egbetokun”. “In a situation where they continue to evade appearing before the investigating panel, we want to urge the police to declare wanted the major actors both within and outside their community, as well as some of the senior police officers who had aided them to unleash series of terror that had claimed lives and bring them to justice”, it stated. End.

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