Amid fear and trauma, displaced Indigenes of Okuama community currently at the Ewu-Okuama IDP Camp, at Ewu-Urhobo, in Ughelli South local government area of Delta state have begged for the unconditional release of their leaders that have been arrested.
They appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to prevail on the Nigerian army and Department of State Services, (DSS), to unconditionally release their leaders.
They have insisted that they will not return to their ancestral home since no one will care for their wellbeing except if they are released unconditionally.
The women leader of Okuama community, Mrs. Josephine Oghenehwosa lamented that some of them are on hunger strike because their arrested leaders are those interfacing with the government in order to restore peace and rebuild their destroyed Okuama community.
According to her, apart from the trauma the arrest is causing them, another painful aspect of it is that the leaders have been kept incommunicado, saying the security agents are silent without agreeing to have them arrested.
“We cannot be connected to them. Since we got the news of the arrest of our community leaders, it has not been easy with us and we are currently afraid to return back to Okuama.
“Till this very moment, we don’t know their location as no security agents have come to tell the world that they are responsible for the arrest. Our arrested leaders are innocent.
Family members of the arrested leaders, especially that of Hon Belvis Adogbo and others disclosed that before the arrest of their bread winner, Hon Belvis had health challenges as they revealed that on the day he was arrested, he had booked an appointment with his physician in one of the private hospitals.
“We are appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigerians to prevail on whoever is responsible for their arrest to release them or charge them to court” Adogbo pleads.
In the same vein, Chairman, Ewu-Okuama Management committee Mr. Abraham Ogbodo said the government has that responsibility to establish that crime had been committed and apprehend the culprits, adding that in doing that, it should be done within the ambit of the law and within what the law allows because we have a legal system.
“If you want to get the criminals, get the criminals, you cannot in the process of getting the criminals, take out the community, get the bad guys, take them out and we are okay,’’ he said.
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