By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South, & Akpokona Omafuaire

EVEN if your heart is made of stone, you will weep at the sight and circumstances of the famished innocent babies, children, women, and men of the Okuama community, at their sanctuary in a forest in a part of the state.

The villagers displaced from their homeland because of the March 14 brutal massacre of 17 soldiers in Okuama by suspected crude oil bunkers and militants had fled into the deep forests where they had been living in shocking conditions, drinking polluted water and without food, in the past 21 days.

Snakes and other dangerous animals play host to them for many nights.

The adults jumped with joy, searching for any available food items and water as Saturday Vanguard reporters, and their escorts arrived at the concealed encampment. It took our snooping investigative journalists a week to get information about their forest whereabouts, and another three days to arrange logistics for the trip.
Read their soul-stirring revelations:
Gunmen in 4 boats from Bomadi side opened fire on soldiers, villagers — Evelyn Edjekota, a 45-year-old mother of seven
I am a trader and a farmer, I do not know where my husband is since the day the crisis started, he is still in the bush.

That fateful day, I was in the house, and many people had gone to the farm, I saw many people coming to the community wearing military uniforms, and most men had left for farms too, we were scared but some person said that we should all come to the town hall.

We told them that our chairman had gone to the farm, and two leaders called him from the farm. We then entertained them before our chairman came. They said they wanted to go with our chairman and leaders. We inquired why they would arrest them.

Therefore, other women and I resisted and held them on the legs, and were pleading, they said if we resisted, they would shoot, next thing was fire, I did not even know how I escaped.

They shot many people instantly. Later on, other boats came from the Bomadi axis of the river and opened fire on the people at the jetty, including the army.

Immediately, we ran into the bush, we heard that soldiers were coming again. Now, I have not seen my two children, Omafuvwe and Andrew, including my husband.

Since we have been suffering in the bush, we survive on fruits from wild trees and drink polluted water, one of my children is very sick now, and there is nowhere to get him medication in this bush.

We sleep on top of leaves at night. Mosquitoes bite us, no place to go, and we do not know when they will allow us back home.

We hear that the army is in the community as we speak, and they destroyed our homes with caterpillars, we want them to leave so we can still go back home.

Our people did not kill soldiers, it was the people in the boats that came that shot everybody.

When the gunmen started shooting soldiers and villagers, we ran away and could not identify them, but they came with about four boats from the Bomadi side.

The soldiers killed Eshedi, Teddy, and Ejomafuvwe. We want the soldiers to leave our community because we are suffering in the bush. Tell our governor, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori to talk to the army to go. I do not want to die inside this bush with my remaining children.

Soldiers killed Magdalene, James, John, and others – 50-year-old Vero Joseph, tailor, trader/farmer, mother of five
I am in this bush because of the trouble in our community; we were on the farm that day. The farm I went to was not far, We heard that soldiers were coming, so I ran home. I got to the town hall and we entertained the soldiers.

In the end, they said they would go with our chairman and leaders, so, we, the women knelt and pleaded with them, but they were trying to drag him with others.

We held and dragged them back. From there, the army started shooting, some people fell, and there was commotion.

We later heard that as the soldiers were going to the jetty, other boats came and started shooting everyone. That is how they killed the soldiers and our people. We have been suffering in this bush since March 14.

We do everything inside this bush, no food, no drugs. I have worn this single wrapper since then, we are hungry and suffering. I am with only two of my kids, I do not know where my husband is, and I do not know where the other children are.

Everyone is scattered, I do not know who is dead. We do not know when we will return, our businesses have crumbled, and everything is gone. We cannot do anything inside the bush now.

I do not know whether my children are among those killed, there is no one to ask. Our people did not kill soldiers, we do not know Amagbein that they are talking about, we do not have oil in our community, and we do not do bunkering.

Soldiers killed Magdalene, James, and John. They are the ones I could remember before running into this bush. We do not know those people, who came in the boat to shoot our people and the soldiers.

We beg the governor to tell the soldiers to leave our community so that we can go back home, the suffering is too much.

Soldiers shot residents in the town hall – 78 years old Pa James Ubrebu, father of 19 children.

The day the incident happened, I was at home because I was not well, someone came to call me, saying that soldiers had come and all the elders should come.

Shortly, I saw the soldiers pass through my house down to the end of the town. They met one Felix Orhiunu, who they accosted, asking if we saw people running away; he said he did not see anyone and that he was going to the toilet.

The soldiers turned back and passed me, again, back to the town hall, so, myself, and Felix went towards the town hall. As we were going, some women told us not to go because the army was arresting the leaders.

I walked near there and saw what was happening, but Felix continued. The next thing I heard were gunshots, so, someone came to hold me and was dragging me to run into this bush. You can see that I am not well at all.

If I walk a long distance, I start to feel dizzy. I am here in this bush with my wife, all my children have left the town long ago, and they do not stay here. I had been living with my wife alone. I cannot even get medication because I left the drugs behind.

In the bush now, I do not know how to get to any town to go to hospital. There is no money too; my children do not know where I am in the bush. I want the governor to think about our suffering, we have suffered so much.

It is not our people that killed the soldiers, the boats that came were not from our people. We do not own oil; we are not an oil-producing community, so where do we do bunkering?

It is a lie that we do oil bunkering – 53-year-old Bernard Michael, father of 6 children.

We are in the bush here, today, because one Ijaw man brought soldiers to our town when I was on my farm.

So I came home, they were asking after our chairman. The chairman then came from the farm and we entertained them and they said they came for peace.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/04/face-to-face-with-okuama-residents-in-forest-were-dying-army-should-allow-us-return-home/amp/

They should identify those who bought the soldiers market.

Why will u hold d legs of a soldier, if e go fall nko

That's mobbing

I dont know why this APC government is so wicked like this.

Lanretoye:
They should identify those who bought the soldier's market.

They said so. Can't you read? Crude Oil bunkers.

He used the first-person pronoun "I"

Therefore, other women and I resisted and held them on the legs, and were pleading, they said if we resisted, they would shoot, next thing was fire, I did not even know how I escaped.

It is not our people that killed the soldiers, the boats that came were not from our people. We do not own oil; we are not an oil-producing community, so where do we do bunkering?

Lanretoye:
They should identify those who bought the soldiers market.

A government that is making its citizen including children to be sleeping inside forest. What a shame to APC government, Yaradua can never do this kind of a thing.

Let them go back to their homes. People can't continue living in those conditions.

Jostoman:
A government that is making its citizen including children to be sleeping inside forest. What a shame to APC government, Yaradua can never do this kind of a thing.

The soldiers they killed had wives and children too. Stop supporting evil because of hate.

Hehehehe.

NA should please temper justice with mercy.

They have learnt their bitter lesson

Lanretoye:
They should identify those who bought the soldiers market.

lanre toye. Na them

illicit:
Why will u hold d legs of a soldier

That's mobbing

But bandits and bokoharam have been holding their blokus for more than ten years

Ohh I forgot that one na family matter 😂

The Nigerian Army remains tactless and that's why they couldn't even win a war against rag tag bandits, always attacking soft target

What happened to intelligence and investigation?

Or do they really think the perpetrators dey inside that forest?

It could even be from within, cos how can senior military officers just go on a mission and get killed like that?

Let them suffer so other communities will learn from their ordeal

Lanretoye:
They should identify those who bought the soldiers market.

Una no dey ever get sense because this human rights abused isn't in your doorstep, assuming it's happening in your community u won't say this. What stoos the military going after the socalled killers and leaving innocent people alone? You clap for evil when it hasn't happened to you don't worry it will reach your household soon and see what it looks like.

In your small mind it is my brother that is president so he can kill other ethnic groups as long as it's not Yoruba I'm fine, this is why this nation will never get better because everything is about bigotry and religion.

PressMyButton:

The soldiers they killed had wives and children too. Stop supporting evil because of hate.

i dont support the killing of our military men, we all saw a video how some part of the village were burn down and some of the villagers also lost their lives when they went there for retaliation, is that not enough for the resident to come back to their house or unfill when snake start killing them in the forest or their children start dying of malnutrition before they will be allow to go back to their house?

Jostoman:
i dont support the killing of our military men, we all saw a video how some part of the village were burnt to ashes and some of the villagers also lost their lives, is that not enough for the resident to come back to their house or unfill when snake start killing them or their children start dying of malnutrition before they will be allow to go back to their house?

Nigerians don't have sense, they don't feel what others are feeling since they are not from the same ethnic group with them.

Imagine when boko Haram was been smoked out before 2015 elections instead of people to hail the president they were saying he was fighting the north, the military weren't burning houses or destroying villages but going after the culprit that is how it should be and not doing collective punishment for crimes of a few.

The military will prefer committing genocide than searching for the culprit that killed their men and Nigerians are applauding them, this is unheard of.

Army should follow them in the forest and flush out all criminals

It was Odi, Bayelsa before.
It was Zaki Biam, Benue before.
It was Obigbo, Rivers before.
It was Izombe, Imo last year.
It is Okuama, Delta today.
It will be .........., ....... tomorrow.
As long as you support the modus operandi of the West African Frontier Force aka Nigerian Army in southern Nigerian communities, don't come and complain to us tomorrow when they come for your community.

One boy was making mouth the other day that they are Niger Deltans and that they are not Igbos nor Yorubas that can be intimidated and I kept reminding him that they are tagged "minority" for a reason.
Now this is the outcome. A minority will always remain a minority

We need Igbo president to correct all the wrongs, two Yorubas did this, first Obasanjo and now emilokan... vote against him next election like you never wanted him before.

COMRADES, the military should not kill the innocent civilians for the offence of the few in that community

Zoo republic.

Congo with beautiful face to cover the real Congo

Yujin:
It was Odi, Bayelsa before.
It was Zaki Biam, Benue before.
It was Obigbo, Rivers before.
It was Izombe, Imo last year.
It is Okuama, Delta today.
It will be .........., ....... tomorrow.
As long as you support the modus operandi of the West African Frontier Force aka Nigerian Army in southern Nigerian communities, don't come and complain to us tomorrow when they come for your community.

A, zoo

1800 zoooo