The Nigerian Military has remained silent on the dying of two leaders from the Okuama neighborhood, Delta State.
Okuama’s President-Basic, Pa James Oghoroko, and the 81-year-old neighborhood’s treasurer, Dennis Okugbaye, died in military’s custody inside six days intervals.
Each Oghoroko and Okugbaye have been reportedly detained by the navy alongside 4 others — Prof. Arthur Ekpekpo, Chief Belvis Adogbo, Mrs Mabel Owhemu, and Mr Dennis Malaka — throughout a navy operation between August 18 and 20, 2024.
The arrests occurred months after 17 troopers on a peace mission to resolve a dispute between Okuama and the neighbouring Okoloba neighborhood have been killed on March 14, 2024.
The deaths of the 2 leaders in navy detention have triggered outrage inside Okuama, as youths and ladies locally had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Authorities and the Nigerian Military to launch the detained leaders and return Pa Oghoroko’s physique.
The ultimatum reveals the anger and grief of the neighborhood, which accuses the navy of violating the rights of their leaders.
Nonetheless, makes an attempt to get official assertion on the neighborhood leaders’ dying from the navy have been unsuccessful.
When contacted, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, directed inquiries to the Military Headquarters.
He stated, ‘’Kindly channel this query to the spokespersons for the military, please.”
Nonetheless, repeated calls to the Director of Military Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, have been unanswered, and he has but to answer to a message despatched to him as of the time of submitting this report.
