Published 17th Mar, 2024

By Emmanuel Uti

The Ughelli South Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State may be on edge following the unfortunate killing of 16 members of the Nigerian Army.

In fact, there are strong reasons to believe that the burning of houses earlier today in the coastal Okuoma community in the Ughelli South LGA was orchestrated by soldiers as a reprisal.

This came hours after some youths killed 16 military personnel on a peacekeeping mission to the Okuoma community in Ughelli LGA.

In a video posted by Channels TV earlier, one could see black smoke over the rooftops of razed houses beside a river. Many X (formerly Twitter) users have suggested that the military might be responsible for this, while others think the military would embark on a reprisal.

Here are similar reprisals by the army.

THE BLOODBATH IN BONTA

In 2021, the Nigerian Army went on a killing spree after 11 soldiers and a commander were slaughtered by Bonta Boys, a contingent of local militants in Bonta, a town in the Konshisha area of Benue State, for allegedly supporting and supplying arms to their rival group.

Afterwards, hundreds of soldiers, armed to the teeth, barged into the community, aggressively shooting in all directions, according to multiple witnesses. As FIJ noted, villages in Bonta bore the scars of the military attacks.

Several houses and farm stores were burned to dust. Walls were marked with bullet holes amidst caved-in roofs. In Gbinde Market, for example, only a few shops were standing amid the rubble. During the invasion, vultures fed on the bodies of men, women and children lying on the ground for days.

MILITARY DISTURBANCE IN YAKURR

In June 2022, a communal clash between the Nko community in the Yakurr LGA and the Onyadama community in the Obubra LGA of Cross River State saw the death of one soldier. The aftermath of the attack was the destruction of some parts of Yakurr LGA.

A source who spoke to FIJ after the incident said the army, while carrying out a reprisal, burned her 70-year-old father to death in his house in Nko. She said that the soldiers stormed her father’s house in the evening, took the doors off their hinges and set the house ablaze with him inside.

According to her, there were rumours that the soldiers would storm the village for reprisal attacks, but her father waved the thought off while her mother ran away before the eventual attack.

OPERATION NO LIVING THING

The Zaki-Biam massacre, also known as Operation No Living Thing, in 2001 was a mass execution of hundreds of unarmed Tiv civilians by the Nigerian Army between October 20 and 24 of the same year.

On October 10, 2001, suspected Tiv militias captured 19 soldiers in the town of Vaase. Two days later, the bodies of the troops were recovered near a primary school in the adjacent town of Zaki-Biam.

According to villagers, the murders were motivated by prior occurrences in which armed individuals in military uniforms raided multiple Tiv villages. The Tiv had a strong suspicion that the military was supporting their Jukun enemies, with whom they had a recurring fight over territory, economic dominance and political dominance.

In revenge, the Nigerian Army massacred people in Gbeji, Vaase, Anyiin, Iorja, Ugba, Tse-Adoor, Sankera, Kyado and Zaki-Biam, although they denied it.

However, on November 6, 2007, the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Luka Yusuf, publicly offered an apology to the people of Benue State for the killings. Later, President Umaru Yar’Adua also visited Benue State to personally apologise on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

ODI MASSACRE

The most notable massacre committed by the Nigerian Army occurred on November 20, 1999, when the Nigerian Armed Forces attacked the town of Odi, which is primarily Ijaw-populated in Bayelsa State. Over 900 individuals are said to have died in the attack.

Prior to the tragedy, a gang murdered twelve Nigerian police officers near Odi. In what the military concluded was the comeuppance of the community, they raided the area, although there are claims that the army was ambushed near the settlement, raising tensions.

The Nigerian Army broke through the ambush and exchanged fire with armed militias in the village, who were said to be using the civilian population as cover. The direct result of this faceoff and the provocation from the “ambush” claim led to the decimation of the community by fire.

BOMADI LGA

Whether the military would retaliate or not is not known, but following the antecedents, there seems to be a strong indication they would attack the community. In fact, reports have shown that some people have begun to leave the community in fear of the soldiers’ possible attack.

In a statement on Saturday, Tukur Gusau, director of information at the defence headquarters, said the military personnel – comprising a lieutenant colonel, two majors, one captain, and 12 soldiers – lost their lives in the attacks on Thursday.

“The troops of the 181st Amphibious Battalion, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, while on a peace mission to the Okuoma community in BOMADI LGA of Delta State were surrounded by some community youths and killed on Thursday, March 14, 2024,” Gusau said.

“The unfortunate incident occurred when the troops responded to a distress call after the communal crisis between the Okuoma and Okoloba communities, both in Delta State.

“The reinforcement team led by the commanding officer was also attacked, leading to the deaths of the commanding officer, two majors, one captain, and 12 soldiers.”

Meanwhile, Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident.

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