The Mayor of Urhoboland and a notable ex-militant leader in the Niger Delta region, Eshanakpe Israel a.k.a Akpodoro, has condoled with the Nigerian military over the loss of some personnel who were reportedly killed during a peacekeeping mission to two warring communities of Okoloba and Okuama both in Bomadi and Ughelli South local government areas of Delta state respectively.
According to Mayor Akpodoro in a statement he issued in Abuja over the weekend, the crisis currently engulfing both communities was avoidable if the government had waded in long before now adding that, but for government’s lethargic approach to issues of security of lives and properties, those deaths would have been avoided.
He said there were calls to the government long before the latest unfortunate incident took place to nip the the looming crisis in the bud.
He regretted the lackadaisical attitude of the three tiers of government who allegedly played the ostrich while the trouble brewed.
According to him, senior security personnel including the commander, two army majors and other ranks were said to have been killed in one of the communities during the armed confrontation that ensued prompting the army to raze down the entire community in a response to the loss of the troops.
Mayor Akpodoro lamented the delay in government intervention but, however, called on the army to be professional in handling the crisis noting that two wrongs can not make a right.
He called on government across the three tiers to promptly step into the matter and possibly rebuild Okuama that was allegedly razed down by the rampaging soldiers, a development he said should not have happened in the first place.
The Mayor is seeking indept investigation into the crisis, noting that both communities are neighbours whose brotherhood had lasted over the decades saying, the government must get to the root of the matter for lasting peace to return to the area.
He added that some unbridled elements must have been behind the internecine war by stoking crisis for their criminal enterprise to flourish in the area.
“No measure of land is worth the blood of any human being let alone killing Nigerian troops” Akpadoro said, while condemning the dastardly act of those behind the attack on soldiers and causing unrest in the once peaceful agrarian communities of the oil-rich state.
“Killing of Nigerian troops is barbaric, an absurdity that must be treated carefully to forestall innocent citizens being punished for a crime they know nothing about.
“The government should consider the resultant inherent humanitarian crisis from the sacking of a whole human community to tamper justice with mercy.
“As the Mayor, I will step up consultations with critical stakeholders to ensure that normalcy returns to the area in no time.
“The people are plagued by economic crisis already, adding homelessness, restriction of movement and other negatives will not help anyone.
“Therefore, the government particularly the two local governments authorities involved should immediately put machineries in place for peace to return,” the Gberegolor Ughelli South local government area-born Mayor stated.
Okoloba and Okuama are neighbouring agrarian communities of two different local government areas in Delta state.
While Okuama is an Urhobo speaking people, Okolaba people are Ijaw speaking and both lie in the fringes of Atlantic Ocean end of the River Niger with its tributaries running through both settlements.
