By: Our Reporter
Ogbole Ogume Community located in Ndokwa West Local Government Area, Delta State has turned a war zone and unsafe for the indigenes due to clashes between the different youth groups, elders and families in the community.
Sunday, August 16, the entire Ogume nation was thrown into further mourning and intense tears when some hoodlums from one of the feuding families wielding dangerous weapons invaded Ogbe-Ogume, a nearby brother village- in the early Sunday morning inflicting pains and injuries on the people leaving in its wake three (3) persons dead, and vicious destruction of properties including a hotel, filling station, restaurants, stores and residential buildings.
Two of the casualties immediately identified were Patrick Ogochukwu Nzete a 500 level (final year) Electrical Electronics Engineering student of the University of Port Harcourt who was hit by stray bullet on his way back from Church and another youth, Raymond Akpe alias Aboki.
The third person could not be confirmed as the time of this report.
Eye witness account disclosed, the reason(s) for the invasion is not unconnected to the lingering crisis in Ogbole-Ogume which has been embroiled in a leadership and power tussle over youth group leadership, chairmanship of the Community Development Committee-CDC-and who controls the recently discovered Crude Oil deposits and its attendant largesse.
This incursion by this notorious armed gang allegedly sponsored by one Hon. Moses Onowu was to frighten and coax Ogbe-Ogume folks to surrender indigenes of Ogbole-Ogume who fled to their brother village to seek refuge from these thugs who have established their reign of terror in the village.
It is worthy to note that Ogbole Ogume and Ogbe Ogume has never been at war before this Sunday invasion and according to history and traditions, they are one and of the same kindred.
They are part of the seven quarters of the entire Ogume nation. Others are Utue Ogume, Umuchime Ogume, Ogbagu Ogume, Obodougwa Ogume and Igbe Ogume.
These communities have over the years lived in peace and tranquility; sharing brotherly love in commerce, trade, tradition and culture including inter marriages.
They on many occasions have united to ward-off enemy incursions into their individual territories and farmlands.
In short, these communities are brothers in the real sense of brotherhood but the dark emerging trend is threatening to rip-off this brotherhood and the unfortunate thing about it is that it is being ignited by some selfish individuals and their foot soldiers.
Two names have readily come up in this whole power tussle – Messrs. Chief Dr. Austin Odili – Atimoh and Hon Moses Onowu, both from different families in Ogbole-Ogume.
It is very important to mention their names here so that as the search for peaceful resolution is being intensified the action and inactions of these two gladiators should be taken into consideration with a view to accelerate or degenerate peace.
No doubt terrible things have been happening in this once peaceful peasant enclave.
One of which was the kidnap of a young man named Jerry from another factional family in the village.
As of today, this person – Jerry has not been found dead or alive, but everybody knows he was kidnapped in broad day light to an unknown destination.
There are fears that he may have been murdered. The Police have been invited at different times for search and rescue combing the vast forest and farmland without success.
It has also been documented how some people masquerading as youth leaders have been going round the community forcing people to join their camp – the Hon Moses Onowu’s camp, it was disclosed have been harassing and forcefully conscripting community members to their side.
If you are approached and you refuse to identify with them you will be humiliated, harassed, disgraced and if you submit yourself willingly to their authority so that peace reign or to prevent being disgraced, you’ll be fined Fifty Thousand Naira (N50,0000), a bottle of schnapps and two (2) cartons of beer to be accepted back into their fiefdom.
Those who objected to join their camp were threatened to the extent that they fled to seek refuge in the neighbouring villages and towns like Ogbe-Ogume, Ashaka, kwale, Obiaruku, Asaba, Warri, Lagos etc.
The attack on Ogbe-Ogume community and the attendant loss of lives and destruction of properties as witnessed on Sunday August 16, 2020 by this infamous group was an attempt to forcefully drag back their fleeing kinsmen to obey to their whims and caprices while also making a foray into and attempting to extend their dominion to the brother village of Ogbe-Ogume and cow them to submission.
How this impunity was continue unabated in this modern time beats imagination.
All through when the invasion was going on; numerous telephone calls were made to the police emergency phone lines but no quick response came perhaps if the security authorities had responded quick and on time, the killings would have been averted.
Eventually a detachment of soldiers from the 3rd Army Battalion, Effurun near Warri arrived to enforce peace.
As we write there is tension in the land as the community invaded is threatening reprisal.
The families who lost their loved ones are crying for justice and to make matters worse, the perpetrators of this dastardly act have not been identified, arrested and brought to justice neither has the Nigerian police made any pronouncement on this sad incident.
I guess it is still part of the power play among the feuding families.
This incident is a trigger and a wake-up call to the Delta State government and particularly to the peace loving Governor Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa to urgently place high attention on Ogume communities before these skirmishes snowball into a high-grade communal clash never imagined.
We urge him to constitute an independent investigative panel akin to Prof. Otuaro peace panel, call the beefing politicians to order and resolve the lingering leadership tussle for the chairmanship of the CDC and Okpala- uku position.
The current unrest and killings in Southern Kaduna may have started like this but was not nipped in the bud.
Let’s make hay while the sun shines!
