Oborevwori: Delta Shocked By I6 Soldiers' Death in Okuama Community

Delta is under control, according to Governor Oborevwori; those who killed the soldiers will be held accountable, and innocent civilians won’t be caught in the crossfire.
The death of sixteen troops at Okuoma in the Ughelli region of Delta State last weekend shocked the administration, according to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of the state.

Nonetheless, he gave his word that there would be no more attacks in the region and that those responsible for the deaths of military people would face consequences.

Following a private meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday, Oborevwori made this observation while interacting with reporters.

He also gave the president a briefing on the recent event that resulted in the state’s military members being killed.

Recall that a commanding officer, two majors, a captain, twelve troops, and one civilian perished in an attack on military forces on a peace mission in Okuoma town, in the state.

The governor informed the media that Okuoma and its surroundings are now under control.

In his words: “You know the happenings in Delta State since 14th of this month and it is necessary for me to brief the Commander-in-Chief and that’s what I’ve come to do, the full details of what happened.

“People may not have knowledge of what we’re doing since I came on board, since last year we’ve been enjoying peace in Delta State and we commend all the security agencies, but an unfortunate thing happened last week that people who don’t have the knowledge have started talking about.

“The two communities in question have been having issue for years and last month, on the 7th of February, they were invited by the state government; the two communities, the members representing those two local governments, the council chairmen and the leaders of those communities, and they agreed to work together, signed peace accord.

“When this unfortunate thing happened, it was very sad because Delta State is governed within the tenets of the rule of law and decency. So, what happened is not in line with what we’re doing in Delta State because I have promised Deltans that I’m going to be governor for all Deltans and we’ve been enjoying peace and one of my MORE Agenda is that we’ll enhance peace and security, and that’s what we’ve been doing.

“So, I decided to come here to brief Mr. President on all the things we’ve been doing to maintain peace and Mr. President has assured me that he’s in support of the peace and we both condemned the killing of the officers and the soldiers because they were there on peace mission.

“What is happening now is something that we did not bargain for, but we want to assure everybody that there’ll be no more attacks on the villages, if there’s been anyone that had happened in the past… but we know that those who are culpable will be brought to book, but the innocent citizens will not be attacked.”

When asked how many people had died and how the community had been the target of retaliatory attacks, Oborevwori declined to reply, citing security concerns and the fact that there are some things he cannot discuss in public.

The governor disclosed that he had a meeting with the heads of security in Bomadi, but he had not yet had a meeting with the affected people because the location was abandoned.

According to him: “When something happens like this, it’s always easy to manage tension. Yesterday, I was in that local government, I was in Bomadi for security meeting, to get full details and briefing. So, some of those issues are security issues that you can’t say publicly, that’s the truth, and we’re managing the situation. So, the issue of whether a place has been burned down or people have been killed, it has happened, but what is the way forward?

“The way forward are two ways; the people that have been killed, the officer and soldiers, we must see how we can find succor for their families and give them a befitting burial.

Also the community, anything that has happened in the community in the past will not happen again, we assure them, but the people who are culpable will be brought to book”.

Although his government has had meetings with the military, he claimed that because the community has been abandoned, it has not been able to meet with them.

“First and foremost, the community people… the place has been deserted, so the issue of whether we’ve been able to see the community leaders, no. We’ve only gotten full briefing from the Army and we’re on it because this week the traditional council is going to meet and discuss. I’m going to invite stakeholders, we’re on top of it,” he explained.

Going forward, Oborevwori emphasized that those responsible for the heinous deed will face consequences, but innocent people won’t suffer as a result.

He said: “Like I said, we had a meeting yesterday with the security heads where the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of Nigerian Army was there, the JTF Commander was in attendance. We’ve all agreed, all the security agencies are putting heads together, we’re on the same page to fish out the real culprits because innocent people will not suffer for it and they have assured us that no innocent person will be victimized.”