Emma Amaize
25 November 2008
The people of Obontie community in Delta State have alleged that suspected armed militants from Ugbukurusu and Ikersan communities have sacked the villagers from their hometown and occupied the village.
The Olore-Aja of the community, John Ogholoja in a press statement made available to Vanguard in Warri said, "We are constrained to cry out to the state government and the entire nation for the security of our lives and property from the brutal hands of our age-long harsh neighbouring communities of Ugbukurusu and Ikeresan".
He said the no-love lost relationship among the communities started many years ago up till 2001 when the villagers were sent on forced exile by the militants from the aforesaid communities, who, armed with sophisticated military weapons razed down all the buildings, killed nine persons and looted their property.
"On 12th of January, 2007, Mr. Ejueyitsi Eyito was kidnapped and shot dead in the presence of his mother and wife, both of Okuovu-Elume at Okuovu. This was reported to the Sapele Police Station but there was no proper investigation in spite of our vehement protest.
"On the Ist of November, 2008, another son, Richard Tedeye was kidnapped and murdered at Ikeresan, near Ugbukurusu. This matter has been reported to the chairman of Sapele Local Government Area, Mr. Atuse, the law enforcement agency in Sapele and nothing has been seen to be done so far", he said.
He asserted that the community protested in desperation to the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger-Delta, which intervened and requested that the people be resettled following which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by representatives of the communities, but, it was breached in 2006 when the militants invaded the community again "with highly sophisticated weapons, carted away their food items and burnt their temporary structures on ground".
The community leader said that a father of 10 children with two wives, Mr. Good Fenemigho was murdered in cold blood during the attack, adding, "At this point, we can no longer tolerate and watch with our hands folded while our sons and daughters in exile are being haunted, captured and murdered without trace of their corpses".
Obontie community, therefore, issued a two-week ultimatum to the affected communities to produce their son, Mr. Eyito, dead or alive, warning, "we may not be able to control our youths whose relations have been murdered in cold blood".
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