Major General Augustine Agundu, a former commander of Operation Safe Haven, has claimed that the military is not responsible for the reported burning of some houses in Okuama following the deaths of sixteen troops in the area.
He said that regular operating procedures and documented rules of engagement are in place, and that military personnel are generally aware of their contents. He said that, following an attack, criminal gangs frequently use home fires as a ruse to flee a neighborhood.
Although it has not been substantiated whether some military men were responsible for the burning of houses in Okuama. However, a lot of human rights activists have warned against a repetition of Odi Massacre in this case.
He said in an interview with Channels TV, ”Organized criminal gangs have laid siege on certain communities and when they are escaping, we see the level of crime that they will commit. So that they will lay the claim on a government institution. The burning of the houses in Okuama community is not the hand work of the Military. We have the rules of engagement and we have standard operating procedure and everybody knows the content of this document.”.
