Okuama killings: Bayelsa monarch alleges torture, arrest of returning residents

The acting traditional ruler of Igbomotoru 1 community, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, His Royal Highness Goodluck Alagodei, has raised the alarm over alleged attack, torture and arrest of returning indigenes and residents who fled the community following military invasion over the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama, Delta State.

The distraught monarch has therefore called on Governor Douye Diri to intervene urgently to avoid the matter snowballing into another major crisis in his domain.

He accused a dethroned former monarch and some operatives of an anti-oil theft security company of working in concert with some military operatives stationed in the community to carry out the atrocity.

Alagodei said: “I make this distress call to Governor Douye Diri following attacks on innocent people who have been displaced and returning home from hideouts since the military invasion of Igbomotoru community on 17th March, 2024, relying on the governor’s call to return home.

“The former king is working hands in gloves with operatives of the security surveillance company to thwart the good intentions of Governor Diri to ensure peace in Igbomotoru as demonstrated in his recent visit to the community.

“The perpetrators are currently ransacking the community, dragging out people, flogging them and arresting innocent people on trumped up charges. Thereafter, they hand them over to soldiers for torture.

“The situation has heightened tension in the community.”

He appealed to Diri to intervene and douse the rising tension from further escalating to loss of innocent lives due to the vendetta-driven attacks on innocent people by the perpetrators who had concluded plans to dethrone chiefs in the community and install their ‘own’ to run the affairs of the community.

He thanked the governor for donating relief materials to the communities, which he stated would bring succour to the people, and pledged their unalloyed loyalty and support to the renewed prosperity administration.

King Alagodei further called on the high command of the military to charge their personnel to keep within permissible framework while carrying out their search for suspected perpetrators of Okuama killings.

READ ALSO

King Alagodei emphasised that the dethroned monarch had lost touch with reality and did not know the situation of things in the community, adding that he was still reeling from his rejection by the people and was intentionally fabricating unfounded stories to implicate an ex-militant leader Endurance Amagbein in the Okuama killings.

READ ALSO: Okara reacts to Bayelsa United’s defeat to Abia Warriors

The monarch described Amagbein as a man of proven integrity with peaceful disposition, touching the lives of people through his philanthropic gestures of payment of school fees, provision of educational materials to schools, various employment programmes for the youths, support for the elderly, provision of 500 KVA generators and diesel among other life transforming programmes that have endeared him to the people.

The Acting Amananaowei advised the general public to discountenance the press conference held by the former king, describing his statement that soldiers mobilised to Igbomotoru in pursuit of Amagbein as false, baseless, misleading and a deliberate attempt to portray the ex-militant leader as being responsible for the gruesome murder of the soldiers in Okuama.

Delta governor visits beleaguered community

More than one month after residents of Okuama in Ewu Kingdom, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State were sacked from their homes as soldiers launched a manhunt for the killers of their colleagues in the area, the state governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, yesterday visited the community.

His visit to the community came 24 hours after the traditional ruler of Ewu Kingdom, HRM Clement Ukolo Urhukpe I, who surrendered himself after he was declared wanted by the Nigerian Army, was released from detention.

Oborevwori, who was accompanied by some government officials, assured the displaced residents of their safe return.

Top security officers in the state were reportedly also among the governor’s team.

Oborevwori reiterated that innocent citizens would not be made to suffer for what they know nothing about.

Seventeen officers and soldiers were ambushed and killed in Okuama community on March 14, 2024 in yet to be unraveled circumstances.