One person has been reportedly shot by a group of vigilantes and eight others arrested by the police attached to the Otu-Jeremi Police Divisional Headquarters, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State following a protest embarked upon by women of Okpare community in Olomu Kingdom.
Tension had risen in Okpare-Olomu town Thursday after Nigerian military personnel invaded the community with three Hilux vehicles, around 7:30am, leaving residents on edge, with reports indicating that the soldiers took control of the community town hall by force to stop its annual general conference.
Following the military invasion and the botched annual conference of the Okpare community, on Thursday, women numbering over a thousand on Friday protested to the palace of Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom, condemning the deployment of military and other security agencies to stop the annual conference of the community.
The protesting woman while threwing their support behind the Otaka-led leadership in the community, stressed that those against the conference over the sale of land had something to hide and pleaded with the Olomu monarch to intervene in the crisis in the interest of sustaining the peace in the kingdom.
SaharaReporters gathered that during the protest which turned bloody, a youth identified as John Ogedegbe, was reportedly shot by a member of the vigilante group drafted to support the military personnel who earlier invaded the community to prevent its annual general conference from holding on Thursday.
It was gathered that the victim, Ogedegbe, who was rushed to the hospital for medical treatment, was later arrested by police from the Ekpan police station and shortly after, about eight community youths and a woman were also arrested.
The president general of Okpare-Olomu, Okiemute Otaka, who is said to be currently on the run for scare of arrest, however confirmed the shooting of Ogedegbe and the arrest of eight protesters.
He added that the protesters were peacefully protesting the military invasion and taking over of the community town hall, which was the venue of the annual conference, when they were arrested by police operatives drafted from Otu-Jeremi Police Divisional Headquarters.
While giving the names of those arrested to include David Ogodogu, Wealth, Ebruphiyo Alfred, Andrew Iruoga, Ogaga and Alex Orgi, the president general added that the injured victim, Ogedegbe, was being held at the Ekpan police station, saying that “The annual conference is the highest-making body of Okpare-Olomu in Olomu Kingdom. There’s no court cancelling the conference. It’s at the conference that we present our stewardship and achievements to the people. It was illegal to use security agencies to stop the highest decision-making body.”
Reacting to the development, chairman of Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state, Lucky Avweromre, in a statement signed by the Secretary to the Local Government, J.A. Ewenede, stated that the military and other security agencies deployed to the community were to maintain peace and order.
According to the council chairman “To say that the military invades Okpare is untrue; they were in Okpare to ensure compliance with the local government chairman’s order to postpone the community conference scheduled for December 26, 2024. The conference was postponed due to a court-ordered restraint prohibiting community meetings pending court proceedings. The Ughelli South Local Government Council, led by Chairman Hon. Lucky I. Avweromre PhD, (JP), requested the postponement to maintain peace and stability in the community.
“The presence of the security agencies, the police, the NSCDC, the army, and the VGN was aimed at preventing any potential defiance of the chairman’s order and ensuring a peaceful resolution. It’s essential to correct the misleading information and provide an accurate account of the events.”
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