As a proactive effort to address the recurrent communal conflicts and violence in the area, the Okoloba Federated Community in Delta has reportedly petitioned the Federal Government to establish a military barracks in Okuama Town, according to Vanguard.
In a Lagos interview, Mr. Clement Koki, the Chairman of Okoloba Federated Community, underlined the importance of taking this move. The request is being made in response to the unfortunate event that occurred on March 14 in Okuama, when 17 military men from the 181 Amphibious Battalion were killed in an ambush while responding to a distress call. This occurrence underscores the immediate necessity for increased security measures in the area.
Okuama, an Urhobo settlement in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta, is sandwiched between two Ijaw communities, Okoloba and Akugbena, and has a history of violent clashes. Mr. Koki vehemently condemned the assault on the military personnel and emphasised that having a military presence in Okuama would greatly enhance regional peace and stability, reducing the likelihood of more violence and instability.
"We wish to avoid repeating bloodbaths. Enough people have died for us, including the best military officers who lost their lives. "Our people are often abducted, and our ladies have been raped." People who visit the property never come back. Everyone will keep the peace in the barracks because they are afraid of the troops.
"The state has to save our souls." He declared, "That is the only thing that can bring us peace." Koki conveyed sympathy to the surrounding towns for any brief disturbances brought on by the military's deployment of security measures in an effort to avert further problems.
Within its ancestral limits, he claimed that the Okoloba Community still possesses the lawful ownership of economic trees, farmlands, territorial waterways, and fishing lakes (Afou Donou, Afou Bolu, Oge Donou, Agbakoropei Donou, Okirimeli Donou, and Benmo Donou).