Many residents of Okuama community in Delta State, Southern Nigeria, have accused former NIMASA DG Patrick Akpobolokemi of being complicit in the conflict that resulted in the death of dozens of community members following the murder of 17 Nigerian soldiers.
On April 22, 2024, Akpobolokemi was discharged and acquitted of fraud charges by a federal high court in Lagos. The charges revolve around a N8.5 Billion misappropriation brought against Akpobolokemi by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Speaking at News Central’s Town Hall Meeting in Okuama, the residents claim that Akpobolokemi ordered the attackers against their community. An elder from Okuama suggested that there had been several indications that the neighboring Okoloba community was planning an attack.
In his words:
“On March 13, we received information that Patrick from the Okoloba community had been recruiting boys in army uniforms, and they were planning to attack our community. We acted on this information and immediately contacted the HPM, the Commissioner of Police, and other security operatives. We received no response from them. Then, on March 14, the tragedy occurred,” he recalled.
He further added:
“On that fateful day, March 14, most of our people were at their farms. Two military speedboats arrived, and some soldiers disembarked. We welcomed the visiting military personnel, as tradition demands. Afterwards, they requested to see the chairman of our community. The chairman, who was on his farm at the time, was brought along with other members of the EXCO. When the EXCO arrived, the military then said they wanted to take them to Bomadi for questioning. We did not understand why they wanted to take them, so we insisted they ask the questions here. They refused and insisted on taking our leaders away. The community women intervened, insisting that our leaders must not be taken.
“Suddenly, two people appeared from the Bomadi side on speedboats, wearing the same army uniform, while others were in civilian clothing. They did not wait to reach the shore before they started shooting. They fired at the military and the community women. They shot directly at our women and youths, who were preventing them from taking our leaders away. They killed most of the community people and the military personnel.”
More than twelve Okuama residents died from starvation and snake bites while hiding in the forests. The elder willed God to pay the former DG in his coins.
“We slept in the forests for days with no food to eat and no water to drink. A lot of people died. We lost about fifteen persons in the forest from snake bites, mosquito bites (malaria), and hunger. Children died from fever,” he narrated.
“The people who did the shooting are not from this community. We do not know them. However, we have been having issues with our neighboring community called Okoloba. There is a man there named Patrick Akpobolokemi. We have had problems with him since January.”