Rights Activist Blames Negligence, Insensitivity Of DTSG For Okuama Crisis

By Daniel Dafe

Comr.(Amb). Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen, National Coordinator, “No Justice, No Peace Initiative,” has said that the Delta State Government was to blame for the crisis in Okuama in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.

Agberen, who said this in a statement on Monday, added that “it is quite unfortunate, that the men of the Nigeria Army died in the process of peace keeping, saying that if not for the negligence on the part of the government and its insensitivity to the people’s plight, the land dispute crisis between Okuama and Okoloba communities would have long been settled.

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He added: “Hence, a proffered solution to putting issues to rest, should be explored by the government and relevance agencies.”

He continued: “In as much as we condemn the attack and share in the grief of the Nigeria Army on senior Army officers and other soldiers that were gruesomely murdered, the Presidency and authorities of the Nigeria Army should not use that as advantage to descend and render havoc on the people.”

“They should interface with the Delta State Government, on why they turned blind eyes to the lingering issues between Okuama and Okoloba communities. It is a known fact that issues of land dispute among neighbouring communities are common in different areas in the State, where avenues are created to allocate huge amounts for security and are divided among persons in government and community leaders. Reasons the government of the day neglects and allows such conflicts to linger for a period and in the end devise a white paper strategy which are not normally followed, where monies are allocated to compensate victims and communities, for property/life loss or damages. An issue the Government could have easily intervened, proffering lasting solutions. These occurrences have always created avenues to allocate public funds for the wrong reasons, where whooping amounts are diverted for personal gains,” he opined.