The Secretary-General of Ewu Kingdom Development Forum and human rights activist, Mr. Edewor Egedegbe, has said residents of Okuama community feel “alienated” and abandoned by the Delta State and federal governments following the military invasion of the area and continued detention of community leaders.
Egedegbe made the allegation during an interview with Advocate Broadcasting Network (ADBN), alleging that perpetrators of the killing of 17 military personnel around the riverbank of Okuama community want the community to be wiped out.
Recall that 17 Nigerian Army personnel reportedly on a ‘peace mission’ to Okuama over a land dispute were ambushed and murdered by unknown gunmen in April 2024, a situation that led to the destruction of the community by soldiers.
Some leaders of Okuama community, including a high-ranking senior lecturer at the Delta State University, Abraka, who doubled as the President General of Ewu Kingdom, Prof. Arthur Ekpekpor, were arrested.
But speaking on the continued incarceration of the community leaders, Egedegbe said the community has remained abandoned and in ruins since the unfortunate incident.
“The living conditions of the Okuama people are very pathetic after 2 years plus,” he said, adding that residents now feel cut off from society.
“To them, their situation is more like that of a conquered people,” he added.
Egedegbe alleged that the community is being treated as a “conquered territory,” noting that over 1,000 displaced persons are currently living in a single hall.
While acknowledging that the Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori had constructed some blocks of classrooms and a health centre, but he observed that the completed projects are yet to be equipped for use.
He stated that pupils from the community had not attended school for the past two years owing to the crisis and the destruction of the community by the military.
“All efforts to meet the governor since December 2024 have failed,” he added.
On detention of community leaders, Egedegbe said some persons, including the President-General of Ewu Kingdom Development Forum, Prof. Arthur Ekpekpor, have been in military custody since August 2024.
He alleged that detainees have been denied access to family members and lawyers by the Nigerian military.
“Our kinsmen who are languishing in military detention facilities is a pointer to this fact. It is painful to say that the President-General of Ewu Kingdom, Prof. Arthur Ekpekpor and others in detention were arrested by the army on 18th and 19th of August, 2024, 20 months now.
“We don’t have access to them; their wives, doctors, and family members don’t have access to them. While in incarceration, Prof. Arthur Ekpokpo lost his eldest daughter, a lecturer at Delta State University, Abraka.
“More unfortunately, we have lost the President of Okuama Community, James Oghorokor, in a military detention facility, and as I speak, we don’t know the state of health of others who are still in detention at the military facilities”, Egedegbe lamented.
The activist also claimed that a Federal High Court order directing the military to produce them in court had not been obeyed.
He added, “The most surprising, I must say, is that a court order was given last year by a Federal High Court, Warri, mandating the military to produce the Okuama people in their custody in court, but the army authority didn’t honour the court order.”
He urged authorities to either release the detainees or charge them in court in line with due process.
“If there is evidence, let them be charged in court,” he said.
The activist called for urgent intervention from both federal and state governments, insisting that the situation has left the community in deep hardship.
“The Okuama people are feeling alienated,” he said, stressing that “They want justice and the release of their leaders.”
