The crisis involves Okuama community in the Ughelli South Local Government Area and Okoloba in the Bomadi Local Government Area of the state.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in the 2023 Delta State governorship election, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, has condemned the killing of 16 military personnel and other civilians in a communal crisis in the state.
The crisis involves Okuama community in the Ughelli South Local Government Area and Okoloba in the Bomadi Local Government Area of the state.
Gbagi warned that "such massacre and burning of houses could be a trigger to inter-religious conflicts and ethnic war if not discreetly handled".
He called for professionalism on the part of soldiers in handling the matter and urged the Nigerian government to "as a matter of urgency, carry out a holistic investigation into the act, with a view to unraveling those behind it and bringing them quickly to face the full wrath of law to serve as a deterrent to others".
Gbagi, who said this in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Orusi Kenneth, on Sunday, described the attack and killing of soldiers and others as shocking and reprehensible.
He described the killing as alien to the state.
Praying for the repose of the souls of the murdered officers, he solicited support for their loved ones.
However, he asked the federal and state governments to find a lasting solution to the lingering crisis that has left many dead in the communities.
Gbagi further called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in collaboration with their state counterpart and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to immediately send relief materials to affected victims and settle the medical bills of those hospitalised.
He said, “Whilst I bring my condolence to the Chief of Defence Staff with the ungodly news of the killing of 16 soldiers by members of our society and state, my position is that I condemn in the highest term the killing of anybody not to talk of innocent soldiers that are sacrificing their lives to protect and ensure peaceful coexistence in agitating communities.
“Never has it happened since the civil war for officers and soldiers in this large number killed anywhere in the country.”
He described the act as barbaric, adding, “We support the Nigerian army to unearth the perpetrators and bring them to book.”
He continued, “The killing of any human being is a crime before humanity and God. So, we totally condemn this and support a full-scale investigation to bring to book this act.
“The identity of those behind this killing must be brought to book and ruthlessly dealt with while condoling their families.
“Pointing accusing fingers at any member of a community with such a heinous crime needs thorough and careful searching.
“To kill 16 officers is not a joke and such barbaric act happening in Ughelli south, to say the least, is condemnable as we are not known for violence, it is not part of us as a people.”