Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta state has said his government was taken aback by the killing last weekend of 16 soldiers at Okuoma in Ughelli area of the state.
He, however, assured that there will be no more attacks in the area while the perpetrators of the killing of military personnel will be brought to justice.
Oborevwori stared this while speaking with newsmen on Tuesday after a closed- door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
He also briefed the president on the recent incident that led to the killing of military personnel in the state.
Recall that an attack on the military personnel on a peace mission in Okuoma community of the state led to the death of a commanding officer, two majors, one captain, 12 soldiers and one civilian.
The governor told reporters that the situation is now under control in Okuoma community and its environ.
His words: “You know the happenings in Delta State since 14th of this month and it is necessary for me to brief the Commander-in-Chief and that’s what I’ve come to do, the full details of what happened.
“People may not have knowledge of what we’re doing since I came on board, since last year we’ve been enjoying peace in Delta State and we commend all the security agencies, but an unfortunate thing happened last week that people who don’t have the knowledge have started talking about.
“The two communities in question have been having issue for years and last month, on the 7th of February, they were invited by the state government; the two communities, the members representing those two local governments, the council chairmen and the leaders of those communities, and they agreed to work together, signed peace accord.
“When this unfortunate thing happened, it was very sad because Delta State is governed within the tenets of the rule of law and decency. So, what happened is not in line with what we’re doing in Delta State because I have promised Deltans that I’m going to be governor for all Deltans and we’ve been enjoying peace and one of my MORE Agenda is that we’ll enhance peace and security, and that’s what we’ve been doing.
“So, I decided to come here to brief Mr. President on all the things we’ve been doing to maintain peace and Mr. President has assured me that he’s in support of the peace and we both condemned the killing of the officers and the soldiers because they were there on peace mission.
“What is happening now is something that we did not bargain for, but we want to assure everybody that there’ll be no more attacks on the villages, if there’s been anyone that had happened in the past… but we know that those who are culpable will be brought to book, but the innocent citizens will not be attacked.”
Asked the number of casualties and reprisal attacks on the community, Oborevwori declined comments, saying it is security issue and there are certain things he cannot say in the public.
The governor revealed that he met with the security heads in Bomadi but was yet to meet with the community involved as the place has been deserted.
According to him: “When something happens like this, it’s always easy to manage tension. Yesterday, I was in that local government, I was in Bomadi for security meeting, to get full details and briefing. So, some of those issues are security issues that you can’t say publicly, that’s the truth, and we’re managing the situation. So, the issue of whether a place has been burned down or people have been killed, it has happened, but what is the way forward?
“The way forward are two ways; the people that have been killed, the officer and soldiers, we must see how we can find succor for their families and give them a befitting burial.
Also the community, anything that has happened in the community in the past will not happen again, we assure them, but the people who are culpable will be brought to book”.
He said while his government has met with the military, it has not been able meet with the community because it has been deserted.
“First and foremost, the community people… the place has been deserted, so the issue of whether we’ve been able to see the community leaders, no. We’ve only gotten full briefing from the Army and we’re on it because this week the traditional council is going to meet and discuss. I’m going to invite stakeholders, we’re on top of it,” he explained.
On the way forward, Oborevwori stressed that perpetrators of the dastardly actbwill be brought to book while innocent won’t be victimised.
He said: “Like I said, we had a meeting yesterday with the security heads where the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of Nigerian Army was there, the JTF Commander was in attendance. We’ve all agreed, all the security agencies are putting heads together, we’re on the same page to fish out the real culprits because innocent people will not suffer for it and they have assured us that no innocent person will be victimized.”
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