Oborevwori Provides Succour To Suffering Okuama People

On March 14, 2024, word of the deaths of four military commanders and thirteen troops in Okuama, a village in Ewu-Urhobo Kingdom in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, spread around the town, causing chaos

Okuama undeservedly became infamous for the wrong reasons, just for the evil action of a few criminal elements. On hearing of the unfortunate incident, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori promptly took steps to manage the situation to stop it from escalating.

As a result of his firm resolve in this direction, a state security council meeting was promptly held at Bomadi, the seat of 181 Amphibious Battalion of the Nigerian Army, to appraise the situation. Thereafter, the Governor, who is Chief Security Officer of the state, flew to Abuja to brief President Bola Tinubu, who is the Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, on the situation at Okuama.

Aside from the President, the governor also held crucial meetings with the brass of the Nigerian Army in Abuja, and, later, briefed the royal fathers in the state at which occasion he urged them not to hinder efforts at apprehending those behind the murders. He equally briefed the members of the State Advisory and Peace Building Council.

The governor, as part of his grief over the unfortunate incident and in empathy with the deceased and their families as well as the military and other stakeholders, led a powerful delegation of the state government to the national funeral for the late military personnel in Abuja.

As soon as the security situation became clear, the governor promptly went to Okuama to see things for himself.

That was on Saturday 20th April , when he visited Okuama with an assurance for the safe return of the innocent indigenes who fled the community in the wake of the crisis over the killing of four officers and 13 soldiers on March 14.

The Governor, who was accompanied by the Commander, 63 Brigade, Brig. Gen. Unachukwu Ugochukwu, and top government officials, on the journey that took over one hour and twenty minutes from Warri, reiterated that innocent citizens would not be made to suffer for what they know nothing about. Recall that the killings made the people of the community flee for fear of being attacked.

Speaking to journalists at Okuama, Governor Oborevwori said: “We have followed due process in the whole incident. The people have been buried and the King that was detained was released yesterday and today I am here to see what happened in Okuama community.

“Let me again reiterate Mr President’s promise that no innocent person would be victimised and you can see that, from that time till now, there has been no further harassment of citizens of this community.

“I have come to see how the innocent people of this community can be reintegrated back with the cooperation of the military.”

He said his administration was doing a lot to effectively resolve the dispute, adding that citizens of Okuama would soon return home, without further hindrance.

“They have been very supportive and they have kept to their promise that innocent people will not be victimised. I want to assure the people of Okuama there is no point running away from your community.

“We are going to bring you back to your community. It’s only those that are involved the military are looking for”, he said.