Urhobo Leader Reveals 1 Major Issue Responsible for Murder of 17 Soldiers in Delta

• The murder of military personnel in Okuama community, Delta state has continued to generate discussion in Nigeria's polity
• Although Tinubu on Wednesday, during the burial of the slain soldiers offered scholarships, houses and other gifts to the family they left behind and assured them of maximum support from the federal government
• Unfortunately, in a recent interview, an Urhobo leader, Abraham Ogbodo, said the soldiers' murder is connected to crude oil

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements

On Thursday, March 28, an Urhobo leader and former editor of Guardian Newspaper, Abraham Ogbodo, said the gruesome murder of 17 military personnel in Okuama in Delta state cannot be unconnected to crude oil, saying it is the case with most conflicts in the Niger Delta region.

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Ogbodo, made this assertion when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.

According to the Urhobo leader, the conflict that led to the gruesome murder of the military personnel was related to oil.

“It’s very true, nothing so grave happens in Niger Delta without oil underlining it,” he said.

“That has been said before and that has also been confirmed by the Chief of Army Staff. Why we are fishing for other facts is what I don’t understand.

“Let’s keep that narrative, what will happen is whoever is involved in any way to the killing, if investigation brings that person out, fine – nobody is going to query that, nobody is going to raise issues.”

Four officers and 13 soldiers were gruesomely murdered after they reportedly responded to a peace-keeping call to resolve a conflict between two neighbouring communities of Okuama and Okoloba in Delta State on March 14, 2024.

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The Urhobo leader questioned the circumstances that led to the deployment of the officers and soldiers to Okuama, wondering if it was the community or the local government that invited them for the peace mission.

He lamented that the true situation of the whole incident has not been established as the community has not been able to present its own story, saying that what everyone has been running with is a single narrative as told by the military.

The former editor, however, believed that there was no justification for the killing of the officers and soldiers. He called for an independent investigation into the unfortunate incident to unravel the truth behind it.

Delta Killing: DHQ declares eight suspects wanted

In another development, Legit.ng earlier reported that the defence headquarters in Nigeria had declared eight persons as wanted about the killings of 17 soldiers in the Okuama community of Delta state.

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The military published the names and photos of the suspects on its social media page on Thursday morning.

This came barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu honoured the murdered soldiers' children with federal government scholarships to the university level, among others.

Source: Legit.ng