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December 9, 2024
The protesters warned that failure by the Nigerian government and the Nigerian Army to effect release of the detained community leaders after the seven-day ultimatum will lead to their resorting to self-help.
Hundreds of residents of Okuama community in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State comprising women and youths on Monday staged a peaceful protest against the torturng to death of their President-General, Pa James Oghoroko, by the Nigerian Army.
The protest, Saharareporters gathered, took place on Sunday.
The aggrieved protesters, however, gave the Nigerian government and the military authorities seven-day ultimatum to release five community leaders still being held captive in military detention, and the body of the late Pa Oghoroko.
The protesters warned that failure by the Nigerian government and the Nigerian Army to effect release of the detained community leaders after the seven-day ultimatum will lead to their resorting to self-help.
The deceased President-General, Pa Oghoroko, was arrested alongside Prof. Arthur Ekpekpo, Chief Belvis Adogbo, Dennis Okugbaye, Dennis Malaka, Madam Mabel and one other, between August 18 and 20, 2024, and had remained in unknown military detention facilities since then.
However, the leader of the protesters, Elder Ohwotake Otiero, while addressing journalists said: "We want the corpse of Oghoroko and those detained to be released immediately. We will take the laws into our hands because we have been pushed to the wall. Why should our P-G be killed through torture?"
The protesters vowed, among others, to "block the River Niger access at the expiration of the ultimatum," maintaining that the government and military authorities could not continue the illegalities.
"Bring them to court if you have any evidence of crime they committed and let the law take its course."
Another community leader, Hon. Jacob Akemor wondered why the Nigerian Army resorted to "impunity" in the matter.
"Is the Nigerian Army above the law? How can you abduct people without taking them to court? Is that the Nigerian law? Now, our PG is dead, others as we hear are terribly sick. Within seven days, we want all of them to be released. We have suffered enough and the government should act to avert unrest.
"Okuama has been destroyed, our leaders are now dying in military detention. We are mourning now and we want an end to this oppression," he declared.
In her submission, a women leader, Maria Adams maintained that the Okuama community residents are "annoyed to hear that our PG is dead in the military detention".
"What did he do? Someone who never did anything but was arrested and now he is dead. We are thrown into mourning. We want President Tinubu to tell us if we are still Nigerians. What is Okuama crime to warrant this treatment? We want our leaders to be released immediately. We have been pushed to the wall, we want action now."