As the military searches for the individuals responsible for the deaths of the 17 soldiers in the Okuama community in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, locals in Delta and Bayelsa have described living in constant terror as a result of the military invading certain communities.
The Youth Wing President of the Urhobo Progress Union, Blessed Ughere, described what reportedly transpired in Okuama when the military stormed the community after the soldiers were killed in an interview with Arise TV on Friday.
Ughere extended condolences to the military and the families of the slain soldiers and Okuama people, and said that there should be a way to resolve the issues.
He urged the authorities to set up an independent team to investigate the issue, but that there is no way investigation can be conducted when the military has blocked access into the community.
Speaking further, Ughere claimed that people who did not even know anything about the issue were killed.
He said, “Some of them were in the bush clearing when it happened, some of them were at school, some of them do not even know where their children are, some of them are dead. How do we confirm all of these alleged stories? A lot of stories are flying in and we do not know what to believe.”
He said that killing the soldiers was bad, and added that it is also bad for the military to carry out reprisal attack on the community.
He said, “It is a very bad act to kill the military but it is also bad for the reprisal attack on the community where young ones who do not know anything are alleged to have been killed.
“Children, old ones who could not run at the time when the community was attacked were also slaughtered, that was the alleged story we are hearing.”
He added that it is worrisome to hear that the military has refused to allow people access into the community to conduct investigation and proffer solutions to the issue.
