Owonaru was the second in command to late revolutionary fighter, Isaac Adaka Boro, who fought for the liberation of the oil-rich Niger Delta region from the Nigerian State.
Samuel Owonaru, a retired Chief of Staff of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, is dead.
He died on Tuesday morning in Kaiama, Bayelsa State, after a brief illness.
Owonaru was the second in command to late revolutionary fighter, Isaac Adaka Boro, who fought for the liberation of the oil-rich Niger Delta region from the Nigerian State.
Owonaru was arrested and tried by the Nigerian Government and sentenced to death.
He was in prison awaiting execution for a few months until a counter coup brought General Yakubu Gowon (retd) to power as Head of State, who immediately released him from jail.
Between 1967-1970 Owonaru was a captain in the Nigerian Army and fought on the side of the Federal Government against Biafran soldiers led by late Odimegwu Ojukwu.
Owonaru sustained a serious injury during the Civil War and was left in a wheelchair ever since until his demise on Tuesday.