Slain soldiers vs burning towns: Questions unasked. The Okuama and Okoloba communities in Delta State have been burning over land for long. Why not delineate the land so everybody knows where their turf ends and their neighbour’s begins? When fight breaks out, why call in the army? Someone said it’s because no one reckons with the police. But truth be told, who reckons with poorly-paid, underfed, shabbily-dressed, woefully-housed, and ill-motivated police? Take good care of your police and they will take care of you. In several places where the military was invited to do police work, the result has been messy. In Okuama, women and children, the aged, the sickly, and even those who didn’t join in the attack on the soldiers have fled as their homes burnt. Collective punishment is not only illegal, as frontline lawyer Femi Falana says, it is counterproductive. Mr President has his work cut out. To prevent more soldiers from being cut down, and more communities from going up in flames, or worse, he will do well to consider these unasked questions. His time starts now.
By Ogochukwu Ikeje
Everyone, from Peter Obi to EK Clark to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, has called for a probe of the violence that took place in Delta State last week. It was just as well. For the killing of 16 army personnel, among them a commanding officer, two majors and a captain, is viewed with utmost seriousness anywhere in the world. More so when the soldiers were killed, not in battle with enemy combatants of another nation, but in an ambush by presumed civilians in their own country.
It was a dreadful week. Two neighbouring communities in the state, Okuama, an Urhobo town, and Okoloba, an Ijaw community, were squabbling over land. Someone called in the army and as the soldiers moved in, on Thursday, March 14, they were ambushed in Okuama and cut down. Photos of their dismembered remains have been circulating on the internet. Insult to injury.
President Bola Tinubu also called for a probe, and like Mr Obi, Chief Clark, Mr Oborevwori, governor of Delta State, and others, he offered his condolences too. In a post on X, which he personally signed, he said “the military high command was already responding to this incident” and that he had granted “full authority” to the military authorities “to bring to justice anybody…responsible for this unconscionable crime against the Nigerian people.”
When he said “the military high command was already responding to the incident” he knew what he was saying. This is because by Sunday when he was composing his statement, six military gunboats were already anchored on the shores of Okuama River. Residents of the community had also fled their homes fearing reprisals by soldiers. Indeed, reinforced soldiers did show up at Okuama but finding a deserted community, they reportedly set fire to the houses. Pictures of the burning town have also been circulating on the internet. Some unconfirmed reports claimed that the soldiers started shooting as they came into the community. Is that how to catch the actual killers of their colleagues?
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There are concerns too about granting “full authority” to the military to bring those culpable to book. It is not the place of the military to go after bloodthirsty civilians. That’s the job of the police. And knowing how the military goes about this sort of task, the result is usually grim and messy. Odi and Zaki Ibiam come to mind. In both places, the communities were razed down but did they catch the culprits?
The president is saddened and angry about the killing of the soldiers. So is every right-thinking person. But how do you go about catching the perpetrators, and how do you prevent such criminalities from reoccurring? There has to be a clear-headed approach, otherwise, as Mr Obi said, you end up heaping atrocity upon atrocity. Two wrongs don’t make a right, as he put it.
Why are the Okuama and Okoloba people fighting? The communities have been burning over land for a long time. No one sorted it out. They are not alone. Many communities in the country have lost many souls and unquantifiable property in land disputes. Delineate the land and everybody will know where their turf ends and their neighbour’s begins.
But when a civilian-fight does indeed break out, why call in the army to keep the peace, and not the police? Someone said it’s because no one reckons with the police. But truth be told, who will reckon with poorly-paid, underfed, shabbily-dressed, woefully-housed, and ill-motivated police? Who reckons with a baby whose mother doesn’t reckon with? Take good care of your police and they will do their job.
In several places where the military was invited to do police work, how did they fare? The result has been messy. In Okuama, women and children, the aged, the sickly, and even those who didn’t join in the attack on the soldiers have fled as their homes burnt. Collective punishment is not only illegal, as frontline lawyer Femi Falana says, but it is also counterproductive.
Who killed the soldiers in Okuama? Reports point to armed, unemployed youths. How did they get their weapons? Give them jobs and their appetite for violent crime will peter out. Mop up the light and small arms in civilian hands, police the borders and ports better and you will control the circulation of illicit weapons among the populace.
Mr President has his work cut out. To prevent more soldiers from being cut down, and more communities from going up in flames, or worse, he will do well to consider these unasked questions. His time starts now.
