Ogba Community And Insecurity

Ogba community in Rivers State was once one of the most peaceful communities in Nigeria but unfortunately, the story has changed.

The formerly serene neighbourhood has now turned into a theatre of violence and chaos, concerned observers note.

Ogba community is in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area — the largest local council area in Rivers — and the area is reputed to have over 100 oil wells.

Observers lament that living in the community is fast becoming a nightmarish experience because of the rising wave of violence there, which many blame on factors such as inexplicable rivalry between cult groups.

The State Security Service (SSS) in Omoku, the headquarters of the local government area, confirmed the people’s fears and stressed the need for regular meetings between traditional rulers, elders and youth leaders in the area to stem the killings.

Mr Richard Nwokocha, a law lecturer in Rivers State University of Science and Technology in Port Harcourt, who hails from Okposi community, describes Ogba community as “one of most dangerous parts of Nigeria”.

His viewpoint, however alarmist it may sound, tends to reflect the level of the people’s despondency regarding the waning security of people’s lives property in the and community.

It is somewhat a dramatic irony that the area’s youths are not engaged in militancy like the youths of other communities within the Niger Delta region, in spite of the several oil wells in their neighbourhood, some say.

X-raying the security challenges confronting the once peaceful community, Wokocha stresses that the current state of insecurity in the community will continue to hinder efforts to develop the area.

According to him, this is because it is virtually impossible for individuals, organisations or communities having security problems to prosper and experience any meaningful economic growth.

This is not to suggest that the state of anarchy in the area has not been a source of serious concern to the authorities, including the community’s traditional ruler, Oba of Ogbaland, Chukwumela Nnam Obi, and the people in his domain.

Observers say that the apparent hopelessness of the people about the security situation in Ogba community is even not abated by the presence of the Joint (Military) Task Force (JTF) in the area.

The JTF has an overriding mandate to curb heinous crimes such as kidnapping, terrorism and armed robbery in the Niger Delta region but observers maintain that the task force has not been able to tackle the menace of violence in the community.

The precarious security situation in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, perhaps, compelled lawyers in the area, operating under the aegis of Ogba Lawyers Forum, to organise a one-day seminar on peace and security.

The seminar was held in Omoku, the council’s headquarters, a couple of days before the April 9 National Assembly election.

By the Forum’s calculations, there could be more trouble in the community during the polls if tangible efforts were not directed at checking factors behind the prevailing atmosphere of insecurity.

The Forum, therefore, felt that the seminar would be a potent tool of promoting peace in the embattled local council.

The seminar progressed smoothly until its interactive session which involved questions and answers. The atmosphere in Omoku’s Civic Centre, venue of the seminar, sooner became charged with tension, as the participants bombarded the speakers with incisive questions.

The participants were visibly angry with the JTF and its activities in the community, while most of their questions centered on the Presidential Amnesty granted to thousands of repentant militants in the Niger Delta region.

The participants noted that the ex-militants were given monthly stipend, while they were currently undergoing one form of training or the other.

They added that the Federal Government was even planning to enlist the ex-militants into the armed forces.

In their opinion, the Federal government was tacitly encouraging violence in the country, adding that its amnesty programme and the ex-militants’ rehabilitation programme tended to imply that one of the fastest means of gaining the government’s attention was by taking up arms against it.

However, Wokocha, the lead speaker at the seminar, rejected the notion, advising youths of the area to work hard and earn their living via legitimate means.

Noting that the ex-militants had fought against what they perceived as injustice in the Niger Delta region, the university don stressed that there were no justifications whatsoever for the killings in Ogba community.

Wokocha also urged the youths not to be deceived by the benefits currently accruing to the ex-militants, imploring them to also consider the fact that many militants also died during the armed struggle.

Some of the participants queried the rationale behind the alleged intimidation, harassment and torture of the people by the JTF.

They alleged that the task force physically assaulted the people, while intervening in minor criminal or purely civil matters.

They also complained that the JTF allegedly extorted money from some people while attempting to resolve some contentious matters.

A man, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the condition of anonymity, alleged that the JTF personnel Force in Omoku operated like “a business centre”.

The source, a lawyer in the community, lamented that the JTF’s corrupt activities only reflected the endemic corruption in the country.

“Not even a strongly worded petition to the military high command could stop the alleged corrupt activities of the JTF,’’ he said.

Wokocha conceded that the JTF was created to curb societal ills such as militancy, armed robbery, terrorism and kidnapping in the Niger Delta, adding, however, that its mandate never included brutalising, harassing or intimidating innocent citizens.

He, nonetheless, stated that those who reported civil cases to the JTF only did so in a plot to punish their opponents and never wanted to obtain justice in the first instance.

Wokocha, therefore, urged the people to lodge their complaints with the police instead of reporting cases to the JTF, adding that the alleged usurpation of police functions by the task force in the area had also caused a face-off between the two security agencies.

Obi particularly bemoaned the wave of killings in the neighbouhood, saying that the carnage had caused the community’s stunted growth.

Represented by Chief Ikechukwu Onita, the Oba stressed that “shooting ourselves for nothing” would not engender the community’s progress.

The monarch noted that disputes between “boyfriends and girlfriends or husbands and wives’’, which the police could have normally handled, were often reported to the JTF, describing the development as a disgrace.

Obi particularly challenged parents to step up efforts to control and monitor the activities of their children and wards, imploring the people to cultivate the habit of loving one another.

Mr Patrice Ukposi, the Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), who spoke on the fundamental rights of Nigerians, said that most citizens were unaware of their constitutional rights.

“Nigerians do not understand the power they have. While other members of the international community are busy fighting injustice, Nigerians are simply sleeping over their rights,’’ he said.

Ukposi urged the people to always press for their rights in a constitutional and peaceful manner.

One point is, however, central to the discourse: All members of Ogba community, including the irate youths, have to abstain from violence and promote peace in efforts to develop the community in a pragmatic way.

Nzemeke writes for News Agency of Nigeria.

Richards Nzemeke