By OOA
There have been so many calls for justice, from all angles while some heartless and sentimental individuals were trying to raise dust inside the ocean on the attack on troops of 181 Amphibious Battalion, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, while on a peace mission to Okuoma community in Bomadi LGA of Delta State. The troops were surrounded by some community youths and ki\\ed on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
In response to this, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Tinubu firmly stated in a statement he personally signed, “We will not accept this wicked act.” Tinubu declared that the ambush that ki\\ed the soldiers, including, a Lt Col, two Majors, one Captain, and 12 other troops, as well as one civilian, amounted to “a direct attack on our nation.” He praised the “heroism, courage and uncommon grit and patriotism” of the fallen men.
The Government of Delta State, sounding disturbed by the violence and the unprovoked killing of the officers and soldiers, described the dastardly act as alien to the culture of Deltans. But in reality, does it look ALIEN? He promised that the state government would take “all necessary measures” to protect lives and property in the state. What could those necessary measures be?
THE Ki\\ERS
The mode of ki\\ing of these patriotic Nigerians who were all out to ensure peace and stability in self-imposed crisis-ridden villages, mirrored the wickedness and bitterness of the cowards that carried out the dastardly act. The act defines their professional callings which seem more of ritualism, cultism, terrorism, cannibalism, hired assassins, and kidnapping. They acted professionally throughout the process by disrupting a peace process, attacking peacemakers, called for a rescue mission, ambushed the reinforcement team, attacked them, and worrisomely, dismembered their bodies after the gruesome murder. Such inhuman acts could only be carried out by professional criminals who are not ALIEN to rituals and violence.
THE BLASPHEMERS
There are so many narratives outside there about the situation of what transpired on that dark Thursday, while some of these narratives are genuine, of utmost good faith, and unbiased, many others are sympathetic, subjective, ethnically biased, wicked and parasitism. It is so pathetic that when sad incidences like this occur, people are supposed to be objective and hit the nail on the head, however, some apply sentiments, allowing ethnicity which has kept the nation at bay to dictate the order of emotions.
Permit me to borrow a few lines from Dr Reuben Abati opinion on the same issue; published on reubenabati.com, while condemning some reactions made by stakeholders, he said and I quote, “I am however shocked to no end by the kind of conspiracy theories that have been thrown up by some interested parties with necrophilous prejudices of their own. The most shocking is the suggestion that the men of the 181 Amphibious Battalion asked for their death because they went to the community without permission from the traditional rulers and elders of Okuama. Or that the soldiers and their commander openly took sides with the Ijaw-Okoloba community in a land dispute with Okuama, hence they were not about to make peace. One spokesperson for Okuama has alleged that the soldiers stormed the community and ki\\led three persons, shot at anything in sight and that the tragedy that followed was because angry youths of the community decided to fight back. ……. I have again heard some concerned parties arguing that the reprisal is unacceptable, ………. “
In addition to the worries of Dr, a handle namely 99% Oppre$$ed on X, @pidomnigeria, went all out to call out @hqnigerianarmy, saying they should stop pretending? He further said the Army was not on a peace mission, “you were there to deal with the people”. Justifying the ki\\ing, he said, “but unknown to you, the militants from the community were prepared as well”, What a disrespect to men who dedicated their being to protecting the Nation.
THE EXTENT OF THE LOSS
Really!! Pretence? With the murder of 17 able-bodied soldiers, parents, husbands, sons of aged parents, patriotic Nigerians trained with taxpayers’ money!! It is a pity. The Commanding Officer was a well-trained infantry officer whom the Army has invested lots of money on. A brave and uncompromised fighter, a good and passionate leader, and an extremely patriotic Nigerian who has fought terrorism and insurgency with all the drops of blood and water that run in his body. He was promoted Lieutenant Colonel ahead of his coursemates based on his courage, gallantry, fearlessness, audacity, bravery, loyalty, discipline, and composure in the face of intense danger; the attributes Ali displayed even at the point of death. A peace lover who did not fight the troublesome villagers and the cowards the way he fought terrorists but projecting peace and peaceful coexistence.
Lt. Col. Abdullahi Hassan Ali was a valiant and results-driven officer whose command and leadership style led to a series of successful operations in the Northeast and beyond. These were tested in challenging missions, such as the operation in the Timbuktu Triangle and the capture of Dikwa and Marte from Boko Haram terrorists. Ali always displayed extraordinary bravery, uncommon tactics and strategic acumen, leading his troops to victory while securing critical objectives, and protecting his forces and many national assets.
Lt. Col. Ali has not only made his mark in counter-insurgency operations, he also demonstrated his heroism in the fight against bandits; stabilizing crisis areas in Kaduna and Niger States; protecting the peace and security of our great nation. His commitment to the welfare of his officers and soldiers, and relentless pursuit of excellence set him apart as a true hero worth honoring. Indeed, the Government of Delta State must consider honouring him, his family and others.
We went down the lane of describing the personality of Lt Col Ali for Nigerian citizens and indeed the cowards and the blasphemers to know the extent of loss the nation suffers at the moment. At securednaija, we believe that some of these biased individuals and blasphemers, vomiting on social media needed to answer some questions in relation to the dastardly act as they seem to know more.
We mourn the fallen heroes: Lt. Col. AH Ali, Commanding Officer, 181 Amphibious Battalion, Major SD Shafa, Maj. DE Obi, Capt. U Zakari, SSgt. Yahaya Saidu, Cpl. Yahaya Danbaba, Cpl Kabiru Basir, LCpl. Bulus Haruna, LCpl. Sole Opeyemi, LCpl. Bello Anas, LCpl. Hamman Peter, LCpl. Ibrahim Abdullahi, Pte Alhaji Isah, Pte Clement Francis, Pte Abubakar Ali, Pte Ibrahim Adamu and Pte Adamu Ibrahim.
WHAT THE ARMY SAYS
The Nigerian Army through the Director of Army Public Relations has also condemned the propaganda used by the community in a bid to cover their track. Major Gen Onyema Nwachukwu states, “The community complicit in this dastardly act has resorted to media propaganda and shenanigans, rather than engage in a positive effort to fish out the perpetrators of this heinous crime. This again is a clear indication that the murder of the troops was a communally orchestrated attack against legitimate forces. The falsehood being peddled by these criminals and their cohorts to whip up sentiments and sway the public to cover, endorse or support the outrageous criminal acts of their armed youth gang should be disregarded in its entirety, it is only a ridiculous attempt at justifying their crime, rather than turn in themselves to security agencies. No amount of propaganda would arm-twist the narrative, they are complicit and must be ready to face the wrath of the law.”
Nevertheless, in our own bit, we shall endeavour not to tow the route of blasphemers, we shall analyze the awkward situation, and possibly we can get to know what transpired based on some unconfirmed stories we gathered. Who are the culprits and how did the youths of Okuama get the sophisticated weapons with which they waged war against Nigerian soldiers? what should the villagers do, how the military should react and the roles of the Chief security custodians in all these shall be spelled out.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Okuoma community is an Urhobo community in Ughelli south L.G.A located along the Forcados River. It shares boundaries with Akugbene and Okoloba communities, and both are Izon (Ijaw) speaking communities, located in Bomadi L.G.A of Delta State. Both communities have lived together peacefully for over 3 centuries now. Okuoma community is in Ewu-urphie clan of the Urhobo tribe of Delta State.
There was a communal clash between the two communities, which led to the death of many youths and the kidnapping of some others. The military was interfacing to ensure a peaceful resolution to avoid a breakdown of law and order. The peacemakers (soldiers) were attacked and ki\\ed in the Okuama community in the process of reconciliation while the community claimed that soldiers came to hara$$ them. Based on this incident, another body of force was dispatched to reinforce the former and ensure their safety. However, the mission was stillborn as the reinforcement troops were surrounded and murdered. In this case, both villagers were part of the reconciliation process, both communities were aware that soldiers were murdered during the peace process at Okuama community, and they were both aware that a reinforcement team was coming after the initial attack.
The two communities have accused themselves of murder and kidnapping, they are enemies and they are looking for opportunities to outsmart and blackmail themselves. They both knew the supposed repercussion of the action of Okuama community where soldiers were murdered.
Hence, the Okuama community seeing the sacrilege they have committed (could have) recruited militants to attack the military to prevent the aftermath while Okoloba youths, in a bid to hit up the polity, could have also deployed their militants to attack the military to blackmail their adversary, making it look as if it was Okuoma that carried out the dastardly ambush of innocent soldiers. Therefore, the attack could have been mounted by any of the warring groups to prove a point. Unfortunately, the Army did not move in to fight, but to ensure peace, by antecedents of Lt Col Ali, if the late warlord had to fight, troublesome villagers and the cowards would have deen dining with their ancestors. But, he chooses to maintain peace.
OUR VIEWS ( www.securednaija.com)
At securednaija, our view is that none of the two communities, neither Okuoma, an Urhobo community, located in Ughelli LGA of Delta state, sharing a border with Balyesa state, nor Okoloba, an Ijaw community located in Bomadi LGA of Delta state are alien to this act. The act could be carried out by the youths of any of these villages to prove one point or the other. They must all be brought to justice. The state capital should not be overlooked too, as the criminals would have left the creek to another town, village or city to celebrate their failure. Guests going out of Delta State Airport should be screened, other airports should be put on alert.
What the Army Should Do
Therefore, the Nigerian Armed Forces should spread their intelligence beyond Okuoma where the incident happened but also to Okoloba community. They are all suspects to this unimaginable national disaster. The military should leave no stone unturned to get to the root of these and bring the criminals to justice to serve as deterrence to others and boost the morale of troops. In their usual manner, troops should keep the good record by respecting fundamental human rights during ongoing operation in line with international best practices. It is also very sacrosanct that the source of those sophisticated weapons mounted by these rebels is identified.
What the Villagers Should Do
To the villagers in both communities, many of whom could be innocent of this evil brought upon their communities, they should cooperate with the security agencies and oblige them with information. They should expose the criminals, the known economic saboteurs, political thugs, cultists, ritualists, and armed robbers amongst them, which they all know and can identify. Human intelligence especially in such a community where they know themselves can never be over-emphasised. The only way these set of people can be proven innocent is through their cooperation with the security agencies. They must not hesitate to unmask the masked ki\\ers who have negatively unmasked the village to the world. The people of Urhobo Ewu Kingdom and the Ijaws along the Forcados ( Ali) River must all learn to live together in peace.
What Delta State Government Should Do
The Delta state government has lots of roles to play in this. They must be seen giving full support to the Nigerian Army in a bid to uncover the criminals not only through logistics support but by providing clear leads to aid their arrest. As the security custodian, the state government should be able to map the men of the underworld in the state and they are the best to identify them. They must not be complicit in this in other to protect a particular interest or the other.
The Land Use Act (1979) vests land ownership in the state, putting the Governors as trustees. The State government should operationalize the law in the case of these two communities.
Those who caused the conflict between the two communities of Okuama and Okoloba, and any person(s), be the chiefs, youths, or ordinary indigenes who may be trying to profit in whatever form from the crisis be brought to book.
The people of Urhobo Ewu Kingdom and the Ijaws along the Forcados ( Ali) River must be made to live together in peace.
Furthermore, the government should rename River Forcados as River ALI while immortalizing this great individual with any other state asset by naming it after him. Compensate the family and award the Children of the deceased scholarship to the University level.
What the Federal Government should Do
The Federal Government must continually ask question on this, until the criminals are brought to book. The deceased should also be given a national burial and be immortalized.
OAA writes from Abuja
