Okuama Killings: Oasis Magazine Retracts Story On Akpobolokemi, Apologises

By Precious Okwa

Oasis Magazine has retracted a story published on its medium, quoting Jackson Ude, who claimed that “Patrick Akpobolokemi, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), who is facing charges for stealing N754million, and an ally of Tompolo, has been strongly linked to the killings in Okuama, Delta State, that led to the killing of 12 soldiers.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Publisher of the online platform, Daniel Umukoro, added: “Since we now see the report as hasty because we did not reach out to hear the side of the former NIMASA boss, we deem it appropriate to apologise to the Ex-DG of NIMASA.”

Ude had claimed that insiders told him Akpobolokemi who is from the Ijaw speaking part of the area, working with Tompolo, took soldiers to Okuama to “teach them a lesson.”

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The statement continued: “Ude did not provide any proof and we do not know if he has any.

“But, at this point, the right thing to do is apologise.

“We retract the story and do also apologise to Akpobolokemi for any consequences this report would have caused him and those close to him. Our brand is known for its unbiased reportage.

“We have no intention of blackmailing him knowing full well that he has contributed immensely to the development of the Niger Delta.

“Please accept our unreserved apology. Thank you.”