Sunny Ahwefeada, a member of the World Council of Urhobo Professors, has lamented the failure of top Nigerian security operatives to arrest those responsible for killing 17 army personnel in the Okuma, a riverine community in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta state.
It would be recalled that 17 Army personnel were gruesomely killed on March 14, 2024, which led to the takeover of the community by the military.
Ahwefeada, in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, noted that, to bring closure to the case, it is essential that those behind the heinous crime are identified and brought to book.
The Urhobo leader further lamented the death of one Okuama community leader who was arrested during the incident, stressing that other leaders are still languishing in detention after months of arrest and appealed for their release.
He said, “We are all confused that one year after the intelligence community has not been able to make any headway in identifying the real perpetrators of this and bringing them to book, it is quite unfortunate.
“And I should put it on record here that identifying the perpetrators and bringing them to book is a step towards closure. So, we are waiting and hopeful that someday the intelligence community will be able to do the need so that we can actually know those behind that heinous crime.
“These people that were arrested, even if they are considered suspects, should be handed over to the police and be charged to court. So, as far as we are concerned, in as much as they have not been convicted, they are still innocent, and we feel that they have been held for too long.
“They were arrested between 18th and 20th of August, this is March, this is more than half a year since they incarcerated, and as I said earlier, one of them, an 80-year-old man died in military detention. So, we are thinking that these people should be released.”