Several political and civil society leaders called for restraint on Sunday March 17, the day after the announcement of the death of sixteen soldiers killed in the oil state of Delta (in the south of the country).
On Saturday, the Nigerian army announced the death of these soldiers, killed on March 14 while they were deployed as part of a conciliation mission between the communities of the two neighboring villages of Okuama, of the Urhobo ethnic group, and of Okoloba, of Ijaw ethnicity, located along the Forcados River. The local press has reported in recent weeks clashes, which reportedly left several dead, between these two communities, each claiming ownership of land and disputing fishing rights.
Few details are currently available regarding the precise circumstances of the attack suffered by the soldiers. Contacted by Agence France-Prese, the national relief agency, NEMA, explained “not going to the site” for “security reasons”.
Fearing an escalation of violence, the senator from Delta State (where the Niger River Delta is located), Ede Dafinone, in a statement, “called for calm to the conflicting factions”. “I wish to call on the Nigerian Army to act discreetly in this situation, not to let its emotions take over its professional judgment and not to curtail its operations, while respecting its commitments to the civilians in Okuama,” a- he said, adding: “I also wish to appeal to the people of Okuama to avoid any acts of violence that could escalate this crisis, which could have been avoided if both parties had allowed reason to prevail. »
“Resist the temptation” of retaliation
The governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, said on Saturday on social media that he was taking “all necessary measures to unmask the perpetrators of this despicable act and ensure that they face the wrath of the law”.
“The Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has ordered the immediate initiation of an investigation and arrest of those involved in this heinous crime,” the army said in its statement, adding that “some arrests have been made, while steps are being taken to elucidate the motive behind the attack.”
For his part, lawyer and human rights activist Femi Falana implored the army to “resist the temptation to subject the two warring communities to a retaliatory attack”, in an article in the daily Vanguard. He notably asked that massacres like those of Odi, in Bayelsa State (South), and Zaki Biam, in Benoué State (East), which occurred respectively in 1999 and 2001, should not be repeated.
In both cases, the army executed hundreds of civilians following the killing of soldiers by local communities.
