From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The National Association of Seadogs, Pyrates Confraternity (NAS/PC) has decried the killing of 16 soldiers in Okuama community by gunmen.
The NAS Capoon, Abiola Owoaje, in a press statement titled, ‘Okuama Bloodbath: Averting another Odi’ condemned, in its entirety, the killing of the soldiers, declaring their deaths as ‘’a criminal affront on our collective will and must attract swift apprehension of those responsible, their swift prosecution and appropriate punishment, in the manner prescribed by our laws.’’
It has, therefore, called for an independent probe to investigate the circumstances leading to the killing of the soldiers. Owoaje, who commiserated with the families of victims and the Nigerian Army over the killings, however, implored the military to exercise caution in the quest to get justice for the fallen soldiers.
While urging the military to resist the temptation of ‘’violent reprisals’’ and ‘’collective punishment’’, it asked those supervising the military operation to avert another episode of Odi bombing, which occurred in 1999 when some policemen were killed.
The statement read in part: ‘’The recourse to indiscriminate brute force would not only make innocent people of the area suffer because of the action of a few criminal elements, it will also diminish the deaths of the gallant soldiers. A clinical operation, which is intelligence driven, must be deployed to apprehend the culprits.
‘’More importantly, the federal government, in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, and without delay, must institute an independent probe to unravel the circumstances that led to the killing of the soldiers. This has become imperative following the recriminations between Urhobo and Ijaw leaders over the killings. The ethnic coloration being given to the killing by the Urhobo and Ijaw communities must be wholly rejected and the leaders of the two ethnic groups must desist from hasty, unguarded and inflammatory utterances capable of escalating tension in the area.
‘’We urge community leaders in the area to demonstrate patriotism by enjoining their subjects to cooperate with the military authorities to identify the culprits for arrests to avoid collateral damage to the communities. Apprehending the killers must be a collective responsibility.’’