In The Wake of the reprisal Attack by the Military in Okuoma Community, let’s dive into history to see similar incidents.
The Odi massacre was an attack carried out on November 20, 1999, by the Nigerian Armed Forces against the predominantly Ijaw town of Odi in Bayelsa State. The attack came in the context of an ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental protection. It is estimated that over 900 civilians were killed in the attack.
People generally say that the massacre was ordered by the regime of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and vice president Atiku Abubakar .The military has often defended its action saying it was ambushed on its way to Odi. As a result, tensions rose before entrance into the village.
Before the massacre, twelve members of the Nigerian police were murdered by a gang near Odi, seven on November 4 and the remainder in the following days.In retaliation, the military decided to invade the village but there are reports that the army was ambushed close to the village thus tensions soared, they broke through the ambush and exchanged fire with armed militias in the village who were believed to be using the civilian population as cover. This and the “ambush” provocation led to the attack on the civilian population and the town’s buildings. Every building in the town except the bank, the Anglican church and the health centre was burned to the ground. All of this happened in president Olusegun Obasanjo’s reign.
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