Imperative of managing fallout of the Okuama killing

Investigation going on over the killing of 16 military personnel in the coastal community of Okuama, Delta State should be full and thorough, to quickly bring to justice the perpetrators of the dastardly act; and to minimise the collateral damages as well as the unpleasant aftermath, given that the reaction of soldiers to killings of their colleagues can often be arbitrary, directionless and excessive.

To say the least, Nigerians are saddened and appalled by the killings, which suggest that high criminality is ingrained in many criminally-minded citizens. It is worse that the soldiers were said to be on a peace mission to forestall the breakdown of order between two feuding, neighbouring communities.

No matter the suspicions harboured by the killers against the soldiers, there can be no justification for their taking the law into their hands, and engaging in the barbaric execution of ambushed state officers. In this wise, President Bola Tinubu’s remark that the attack was against the nation is understandable. Nonetheless, neither the government nor the military should allow the exclusion of basic reasoning in unraveling the whole story and doing the lawful needful.

Confirming the gruesome killings, the Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Guasau, had explained that the troops of the 181 Amphibious Battalion located in Bomadi, Delta State, had gone on a peace mission to the feuding communities of Okuama and Okolaba, located in Bomadi Local Government Area and Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, and were surrounded by some community youths and killed on Thursday, March 14.

The Army spokesperson explained that the troops were responding to a distress call regarding an existing communal crisis between the two communities, both in Delta State. Those killed were the commanding officer of the Battalion, Lieutenant-colonel Abdullahi Hassan Ali, The Joint Task Force (JTF) commander in Bomadi, Major Gembu Ashafa, another Major, a Captain and 12 soldiers. That is no mean loss in a country that is continually suffering similar losses at the hands of insurgents.

The Army reported that the bodies of the slain soldiers were found to be in degrees of mutilation, some were beheaded and others had their hearts and vital parts ripped off. That level of inhumane treatment of soldiers, assets of national significance and symbols of the country’s collective strength, has naturally exacerbated the grief that has overtaken the country and makes it very important that the killers’ motives be unearthed.

Responding to the carnage, Tinubu granted the military “full authority” to go after the assailants. In a statement he signed personally, the president expressed “my profound grief over the needless death of our gallant soldiers, adding: “The military high command is already responding to this incident. The cowardly offenders responsible for this heinous crime will not go unpunished.”

In honour of their slain colleagues, the army announced a three-day mourning with flags flying at half-mast in all military locations nationwide from March 18 to March 20, 2024.

Already, stories from Okuama indicate that the military may have carried out reprisals, bombarding the community and setting buildings and homes on fire. Troops of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt and 63 Brigade in Asaba, are reported to have cordoned off entire communities in Ughelli South and Bomadi, making entry and exit impossible for residents. Soldiers have also extended the search for the killers to Igbomotoru communities in neighbouring Bayelsa State.

On Sunday, March 24, residents lamented their predicament as a result of the military siege, which has kept them away from all activities including going to farms and markets. Their means of livelihood are thus affected.

The killing of soldiers and law enforcement personnel in Okuama and other parts of Delta (and indeed anywhere in the country, deserves unreserved condemnation. Even armed soldiers on authorised missions are not protected from killing innocent persons. Thus, a thorough investigation should be carried out to fish out the killers and prosecute them. There should also be a full and independent investigation of the communal hostilities between Okuama and Okoloma communities, both in Delta State, which led to it. The role of leaders of both communities in the entire saga should be investigated particularly to know the efforts made to prevent the breakdown of law and order through dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Delta State Government has reportedly briefed the President on the crisis. That was necessary but certainly not enough. The state government had full knowledge of the inter-communal feud long before the massacre of soldiers; did it also take adequate steps to douse the tension in the two communities before it escalated into the murder of soldiers? An independent inquisition should give more insight into the action and inaction of the government and all that is connected to the tragedy.

It is important that the government and the military act judiciously and cautiously to avoid unintended consequences, and particularly not to harm innocent and vulnerable persons within the communities. There is a need for conscious efforts to avoid rash responses that will evoke ugly memories of military reprisals in Odi, Bayelsa State in November 1999 and Zaki Biam, Benue State, in October 2001, when the military descended heavily on communities to avenge killings of soldiers and policemen in the communities.

In those incidents, soldiers, acting unchallenged, visited ruins in communities, razing houses and other properties, while the inhabitants fled for safety. In these times of economic hardship and high food inflation, the country can do without the huge collateral damages that usually accompany military actions of this type.

Expectedly, right groups have deplored the military occupation of affected communities. The Ijaw National Congress (INC), a foremost socio-political group of the Ijaw nation, has, through its President, Professor Benjamin Okaba, accused the Nigerian army of carrying out extrajudicial killings in the Egbemotoru community.  He claimed that over 80 unsuspecting civilians have been killed in Egbemotoru, with survivors facing severe shortages of food and water.

Increasingly and globally, modern governance aims to attain better management of military-civil relations to reduce friction and minimise casualty. Improved rules of engagement ensure that the military is restrained by utmost recourse to professionalism and adherence to the principle of neutrality. That should be the goal in future deployments.

Moreover, the Federal Government must be mindful of the volatile situation in the oil-producing Niger Delta. Host community issues are delicate and must be handled with caution and in a lawful manner.