The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) has condemned the murder of 17 soldiers and 40 civilians in Okuama and Igbomotoru communities of Delta and Bayelsa States respectively.
Describing the attacks as deplorable, the Centre’s acting director, Sa’eed Husaini called for prompt and independent investigations to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly acts to justice.
Husaini appealed to all stakeholders, including traditional and community leaders, to foster peace-building efforts and uphold the unity of Nigeria.
The Centre’s statement on Wednesday, March 20, underscored the urgency of restoring peace in the troubled communities, saying the Nigerian government and military command must glean essential lessons from historical occurrences and exercise prudence.
“We strongly condemn the unprofessional conduct of officers who are alleged to have invaded communities and visited jungle justice on innocent and defenceless residents, including forcing women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities to flee their homes,” it stated.
While calling for restraint and the de-escalation of tension in the affected areas, the Centre said similar forceful responses in Odi and Zaki Biam in the past created more problems than they solved.
“These precedents led to distrust and animosities between the nation’s security forces and citizens. Furthermore, deploying brute force in situations like these aggravates the risk of radicalising communities and provides justification for the formation of hard-line groups,” the statement said.
It stated further that; “the disturbing reports of reprisal attacks on communities since the unfortunate incidents occurred, will lead to a further escalation of the situation and the needless loss of more lives. Such knee-jerk reactions violate the fundamental rights of members of the affected communities in Delta, and Bayelsa States where reports spoke of angry soldiers razing houses in retaliation.
“While we note that the military high command has denied responsibility for these actions, we call on the Federal, State and local authorities to work with community leaders to identify those responsible for these heinous crimes, apprehend them and bring them to justice.
“The Nigerian Army, with its central role since independence of defending the country’s territorial integrity, must not allow criminals to provoke it to undermine the fundamental rights of innocent people.
“Furthermore, deploying brute force in situations like these aggravates the risk of radicalising communities and provides justification for the formation of hardline groups.”
