The community's president general, SaharaReporters reliably gathered, has in the past two weeks been using Nigerian police to harass the youths and lock them up at the Zone 5 headquarters, Benin, Edo State, where they were bailed with over N500,000.
Crisis is brewing in an oil-producing community, Olomoro, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State following mass arrest of youths in the community attached to Olomoro Labour and Vigilante Group (OLVG) by the community's president general, Emmanuel Oteri.
The community's president general, SaharaReporters reliably gathered, has in the past two weeks been using Nigerian police to harass the youths and lock them up at the Zone 5 headquarters, Benin, Edo State, where they were bailed with over N500,000.
SaharaReporters gathered that the intimidation and arrest of the youths by the community's president general and his group was as a result of youths' refusal to denounce their membership and allow the president general to disband the youths' group critical of his leadership in the community.
Recently, it was gathered that Oteri and some members of his group were caught on video dehumanising and molesting one of the leaders of the OLVG.
Also, the leader of the group, Emuhowo Ewhebe was allegedly banished from the community by the president general.
According to Orerue "On June, 3, 2023, Deacon Emmanuel Oteri, president general of Olomoro Development Union (ODU), led a group of thugs to my home in Egbo community where the president general himself also hails. They were hitting my door at around 2:00am in the mid-night; when I refused to open the door for them they decided to hang around till when I opened my door at around 8:30am.
“They all came to unleash mayhem and assault on my person as it was seen in the video and threatening to kill me if I failed to denounce my membership of the Olomoro Labour and Vigilant Group, (OLVG) and I had to denounce the group and resign as the secretary."
One of the community's leaders not comfortable with happenings in the community who pleaded for anonymity condemned the actions of Oteri, describing him and his group as "dictators" fanning the embers of crisis in the peaceful community because of oil money.
"Several youths of the community have been arrested to Zone 5, Benin and Oleh police station, Isoko South of Delta state over trumped up allegations. And these peaceful youths are granted bail with over N500,000.
The president general has continued to use security men both in Delta State Police Command and Zone 5 Benin to harass, intimidate and arrest these youths who are challenging his bad leadership and governance. Just on July, 24, 2023, the members of the Olomoro Labour and Vigilant Group (O.L.V.G) were invited for a peace dialogue on the issues bordering on the O.L.V.G and the Olomoro Development Union by the Isoko-South Local Government Council under the leadership of Victor Asasa.
“In the process of the meeting, the youths were forced into signing undertaking documents of denouncement of youthful activism of the Olomoro Labour and Vigilant Group that all the youth present must sign of which the youths present in the meeting refused to sign and they were all arrested to the Oleh police station in the Isoko-South council area of Delta state and later granted bail with over N100,000.”
A former chairman of the community who does not want his name mentioned, also condemned the actions of the president general, Emmanuel Oteri narrating that "In accordance with the constitution of the OLVG and in line with local content provision, a team of Olomoro youths (OLVG) ably led by its chairman, Emuhowo Ewhebe, visited the Heritage Oil company, Olomoro flow station to fraternise with the security personnel of the company, where they had brief discussion on issues of mutual interest witnessed by some staff members of the company.
Upon hearing of the youths visitation to the oil company, the community PG Emmanuel Oteri ordered one of his cohorts to disparaged the youths group, calling them all sort of unprintable names, such as hoodlums and defamatory statements.
"Not satisfied, Oteri sponsored a petition against the youths group to zone 5 Nigeria police Benin City, Edo state. Oteri and his cohorts started calling and inviting individual youths threatening them and forcing them to resign from the youth group. Oteri instigated petitions to companies where some of the youths were working and they were disengaged for supporting youth activism in the community, and sadly a whole lot of youths have been sacked from their places of work. Oteri and his cohorts didn't stop at that but still went ahead to arrest two leaders of the group, Emuhowo Ewhebe and Felix Udo to zone 5 Benin and flooded the entire community with policemen chasing armless and law abiding youths of Olomoro into exile and declaring some wanted."
When contacted, the president general of OLOMORO community, Emmanuel Oteri declined comments saying "Please reach out to the Isoko South council chairman, the matter is in his table now, so I can't talk to you."
However, all calls and text message sent to the council chairman, Victor Asasa were not responded to as at the time of this report.