On Wednesday, the Nigerian Army alleged that monarchs in Okuama and other neighbouring communities in Delta State played a role in the murder of the 17 soldiers in the state.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, who said this in an interview on Arise News, noted that the monarchs cannot feign innocence in the matter as the soldiers were gruesomely murdered and their body parts removed.
News About Nigeria had reported that suspected residents of the Okuama Community in Delta State ambushed and murdered the Commanding Officer of the 181st Army Amphibious Battalion, two majors, one captain, and 13 soldiers on March 14.
The troops were reportedly killed while responding to a distress call arising from a clash between the Okuama and Okoloba communities in the state.
Following their tragic deaths, the Defence Headquarters declared eight suspects wanted, including a traditional ruler of Ewu Kingdom in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, Clement Ikolo.
Ikolo has since surrendered himself to the police in the state, where he was taken to the Nigerian Army headquarters in Abuja for questioning and is still in custody.
Reacting to Ikolo’s detention, members of the Traditional Rulers Council of Chiefs in Ewu-Urhobo, Delta State, called for his immediate release.
In the statement, the monarchs noted that neither Ikolo nor any one of them is connected to the communal crisis that led to the murder of the 17 soldiers.
Responding to their claim that none of them was involved in the heinous act, Musa insisted that the monarchs were aware of what happened to the 17 soldiers.
He said, “I have heard the Urhobo leaders talking. I have very serious respect for elders. But I would also like elders to speak from a position of strength. They (Urhobo monarchs) cannot say that they do not know what is going on there. We know that a lot of people knew what was going on and kept quiet and that makes them complicit. Maybe he (Ikolo) did not take part directly, but he will not tell us he does not have the knowledge or understanding of what was going on (in Okuama).
“When he (the commanding officer) tried to talk to them (the community members), they (the soldiers) were rounded up and shot. And not only shot, their body parts were cut, and their hands and private parts were removed. I think that’s what all Nigerians should stand up against. The attack (against the soldiers) was premeditated just because the group of criminals, cultists, and militants that make a lot of money from crude oil theft believe they are above board,” Musa said.
