Okuama: Don’t shield troops’ killers, Delta Gov warns Monarchs

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has cautioned the traditional rulers against protecting any of their subjects involved in the killing of 17 military personnel in Okuama community of Ughelli South Local Government Area.

The governor gave the warning while addressing the monarchs on the incident at the State Traditional Rulers’ Council Secretariat in Asaba, on Thursday.

Oborevwori who lamented the gruesome murder of the military personnel, warned that no kingdom should conceal the perpetrators.

He stated that he would not watch the state become a lawless domain, adding that Delta is being governed within tenets of the rule of law and human decency.

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Meanwhile, the General Officer Commanding, 6 Division of the Nigerian Army and Land Component Commander, Joint Task Force, South South, Operation Delta State, Major General Jamal Abdussalam, has assured that troops conducting operations over the killing of officers and soldiers in Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State would be firm, strong, determined and professional.

Abdusalam made this known when the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Samuel Ogbuku, paid him a condolence visit at the Divisional Headquarters, Port Harcourt Barracks, on Thursday.

 He said the mandate given to the troops by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, was basically to recover the weapons carted away by the perpetrators of this heinous crime and ensure that all those involved are arrested. 

He added that troops would remain in the creeks until these objectives are achieved.

The GOC further reiterated that no amount of propaganda, arm twisting, blackmail, intimidation and false narratives would deter the troops from staying the course to achieve their objectives