By Emmanuel Nduka
At least 22 Nigerian Military Officers including a Lieutenant Colonel, 2 Majors and one Captain have been killed in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, after they were deployed to quell brewing conflicts over ancestral land dispute.
A statement on Saturday by Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, confirmed that “the troops of 181 Amphibious Batallion, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State while on a peace mission to Okuoma community in BOMADI Local Government Area of Delta State were surrounded by some community youths and killed”. It added that, “The reinforcement team led by the Commanding officer was also attacked, leading to the death of the Commanding officer, two Majors, one Captain and 12 Soldiers”.
The figures may, however, rise further, as Heritage Times HT reports that more bodies are being discovered along the Forcados River.
The unfortunate incident occurred on Thursday when the soldiers responded to a distress call on communal crisis between the Okuama and Okoloba communities.
An unnamed source told journalists that suspected youths of Okuama Community abducted and gruesomely murdered the soldiers, and that their dismembered bodies were seen floating around the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Jetty on Friday, including that of the Commanding Officer of 181 Amphibious Battalion Oleh and that of the Bomadi JTF Commander, Major Gembu Shafa.
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A critical stakeholder in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State who spoke Exclusively to Heritage Times HT on condition of anonymity, and gave a detailed account of the build up to the sad incident, said the determination of the Joint Task Force (JTF) to intervene in securing the release of kidnapped persons from Okoloba Community by Okuama youths led them to their death.
He said after the first discussion for release of the abductees was deadlocked, the soldiers decided to head back to their base in Bomadi, but were ambushed by Okuama youths who “rained bullets on them from all corners”.
“Immediately the JTF got wind of the first attack on its troops, the GOC commanding the Bomadi JTF who is a Lieutenant Colonel, personally came with other top ranked officers, including Majors, Captains and soldiers for reinforcement. They came on gun boats. Sadly, they also met their Waterloo, as Okuama youths descended on them with reckless abandon”.
Recalling the build up to the crisis, the source noted that there was a first abduction and subsequent killing of an Okoloba youth by Okuama youths. “We reported the matter to the Police, JTF, the Local Government, and everybody. At the end of the day, the corpse was found floating at the Forcados River”. “Before we knew it, the next day, they kidnapped another of our citizen. This happened just a week ago,” he added.
The source added that bodies of the personnel were brutally dismembered. While some were beheaded, others had their hearts and stomachs ripped out.
Tussle Over Land/Settlement
On the long-standing communal tussle, the source confirmed that “geographical/political misadventure” wrongly linked the Okoloba and Okuama communities together. He strongly emphasized that Okuama Community is an Urhobo Community, and not an Ijaw Community.
“Our land is in Bomadi Local Government, but administratively and politically, their allegiance (Okuama community) is to Ugheli South Local Government. The distance in terms of Kilometres is in hundreds of kilometres. I don’t know where this is done in any sane society.
“These people are tenants to our next village who are our brothers (Akugbene). We originally share boundaries with Akugbene. Akugbene now gave part of their land to these people to settle on. They started growing in terms of population and size, and began to encroach into our own part of the land.
“So that encroachment has brought as lot of fictions. But we on our part have been trying as much as we can to accommodate them because by ancestral descent, they are also part of us.
“There was a marriage between my people and the Urhobos, and after the split of the marriage which was polygamous, my ancestral brothers remained across various villages in Bomadi, while some other members of the family followed through with their maternal side. When there was crisis in their side (the maternal side), they ran back to seek refuge on our own side (Akugbene). Now they have grown overtime and want to unseat the people who are the aborigines. This is where the problem is coming from”.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa on Saturday ordered an immediate investigation and arrest of those involved in the killing of the Military Personnel in Bomadi.
Heritage Times HT recalls that in August last year, 36 military officers were ambushed and killed by insurgents in the Zungeru area of Niger State. The Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ) confirmed this after an evacuation helicopter had crashed on August 14, 2023.
Similarly, at least 45 persons were killed including a military officer, when armed militia groups fought to outwit each other in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.
While Nigerians are largely worried about growing insecurity in the country and are waiting to see the next line of action from the Government and Military, indications are pointing that Nigeria, just like Libya, may be sliding into a failed state.
